Every child leaves poverty behind when they walk through the school gates

Donate to Educate is a charity platform was built entirely from scratch to help tackle educational poverty caused by the lack of access to essential school items. I led the product, design and UX end-to-end — from branding and user journeys to high-fidelity prototypes. For the first six months, it was just myself and a senior developer working pro bono to bring the idea to life. As the platform’s potential became clear, it began to gain serious traction, attracting a passionate development team and interest from local authorities and government departments. We’re currently in stealth mode, continuing to build and refine the platform ahead of launch.

We know that poverty, absenteeism and attainment are intrinsically linked. Poverty influences absenteeism, which leads to a withdrawal from learning activities and the ability to fully participate in the educational experience.

This has a knock-on effect on how a child then goes on to perform when compared to their peers; only 36% of persistently absent pupils achieved 5 GCSEs compared to 78% who were rarely absent.

We know that not having the essentials for school is a barrier to attendance and learning. The lack of basics such as uniform, stationary and hygiene products leads to poor attendance, poor attainment and life chances, and can also contribute towards bullying, low self-esteem, social exclusion and poor mental health - at considerable long-term cost to society. There are approximately 25% of children in the UK currently living in a state of poverty - an astonishing and shameful figure.

Donate to Educate (DtE) is a project which aims to eradicate this education poverty within the UK; education is meant to be a route out of poverty, but this lack of essential items is holding children back and driving a growing disparity in attainment and social mobility. The vision we have at Donate to Educate is that every child leaves poverty behind when they walk through the school gates.

The aim of Donate to Educate is to create a digital platform that connects families, schools, charities, local authorities, and government bodies to request and donate pre-loved school items. These include:

• 👕 Clothes and uniforms
• 🏀 Sports equipment
• 🎨 Art and music supplies
• 📚 Study materials
• 🧼 Toiletries
• 💻 Computing and technology

Many schools, charities, and local councils struggle to find or donate essential school items due to a lack of visibility and coordination. This leads to unnecessary waste and missed opportunities to support families in need.

We designed and developed a community-driven platform where users can:

• Enter their postcode to find or offer items nearby in England and Wales
• Filter by category (e.g., uniforms, tech, toiletries)
• Communicate directly with donors or recipients
• Sign-up to Donate to Educate to manage a school, charity or local authority profile
• Reduce waste and prevent valuable items from ending up in landfills

The platform is currently in its build and rigorous testing phase for MVP, so we're not yet sharing full technical details. However, the early response has been incredibly encouraging. Several local authorities are already lined up to pilot the platform, and it has attracted interest from two UK government departments, which is a strong indicator of its potential impact.

From the ground up, we’ve developed a cohesive brand identity and a robust design system that supports a wide range of user needs. Throughout the process, we’ve explored and tested countless user scenarios to ensure the platform is intuitive, inclusive, and effective. The development team has been instrumental in bringing this vision to life, offering their time and expertise pro bono. Their passion and commitment have been key to driving the project forward.

This initiative continues to grow with momentum, and we’re excited about the positive change it will bring once it launches.