Fill-A-Bag

Our brand new way for you to support the work of The School Bank West Lothian

Donate to The School Bank 

Fill-A-Bag
(open all year round)

For around £20 you can make a difference to a child in our local community

A brand-new way for you, your friends, your family, your work colleagues, or your employer to get involved and help ensure our packs include the most essential items. Young people value being the same as their peers, it can improve their confidence and mental health and well-being – often little things such as having a new school bag or pencil case are key to this.

Demand for our service has increased every year: we are now in our 8th year and last year we supplied a whopping 2,000 packs to young people across West Lothian. Demand is rocketing and so is our need for the most essential items.

We have a winter version of our Fill-A-Bag on the run up to Christmas, please check our Facebook/Instagram pages for more details.

How Fill-A-Bag Works …

Fill-A-Bag gives you the opportunity to purchase essential items that we can include in a pack for a local young person. The process is simple and straightforward:
  • Make a note or take a photo of the essential items listed below.
  • You go shopping, working to a budget that suits you. Around £20 should cover the cost of the basics.
  • Buy a brand-new School Bag or Drawstring Gym Bag and fill it with the items you have bought.
  • Drop your filled bag off at our offices in Dryburgh House, Kirkton Campus, Livingston, EH54 7DE (we do love to meet our supporters!) or into one of our community-based red drop off points.
  • Your donations will be used in our packs before being passed to our Referrers who give them to our beneficiaries.
Essential items to include in your School Bag or Drawstring Gym Bag:
  • Socks
  • Pack of Tights
  • Pencil Case with basic stationery e.g. pens, pencils, eraser, sharpener. Primary school kids enjoy coloured pencils and High school kids appreciate highlighters, note pad and post-its.
Optional extras if you want, but there is absolutely no pressure to include any of these items:
  • Men’s boxer shorts for teenage boys (no y-fronts)
  • Women’s briefs for teenage girls (no granny pants or g-strings)
  • Hygiene products such as: Roll on deodorant, Shower gel/Bars of soap, Shampoo bar, Hair conditioner, Hair gel, Toothpaste and Toothbrush.
  • Hair accessories such bobbles (suitable for early primary school age). 

Fill-A-Bag is a wonderful initiative you can get behind and provide practical and tangible support to young people in our local community. It can also be a fabulous activity to get your children involved in e.g. taking part can lead them to feeling more empathy for others, helps them feel a little of how it might be to step into another person’s shoes, and will help to improve their budgeting skills.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to buy every item?
No, not at all.  You are welcome to provide all of the items or just a few – it is up to you! Please do not feel obliged to purchase everything on the list, we appreciate all donations, large or small, every single one makes a difference. You could team up with a family member or friend or work colleagues to help share the cost and the experience.
Where do I buy the items from?

Anywhere you that suits you and your circumstances. Schools bags can be bought at very reasonable prices from Primark, Decathlon or any of the supermarkets and can be bought locally.

Online can be a great option as a fuller range of stock can be obtained such as Hype has very reasonably priced school bags (remember to use Easyfundraising if you shop online to help raise more funds for us).

Shops such as The Works, B and M, Home Bargains and Poundland have some well priced stationery items. Socks and tights can be bought from bought from Asda or Primark, and many other stores. Don’t forget Amazon (we have an Amazon Wishlist set up).

We all have that one savvy shopper friend who knows where to get the bargains!

How quickly do I have to provide the items?

We receive referrals every week of the year meaning we need a lot of essential items throughout the year. As a result Fill-A-Bag is open all year round. Instead of sending Christmas cards, Fill-A-Bag.

If you are the kind of person who doesn’t need gifts on their birthday why not ask friends to Fill-A-Bag instead.

Are you a savvy shopper and love a bargain in January, then you know what to do, Fill-A-Bag.

Are you an employer looking to organise a staff charity fundraiser then this could be an easy way to get staff involved in giving back or want as an organisation you may want to make a donation as part of your commitment to social responsibility?

Still Got Questions?

Please contact our admin team by email at admin@schoolbank-westlothian.org