A community activist group has appealed for funds for a school uniform drive after having the lowest amount of money for the programme in its history.

Gina Spence, of the Gina Spence Programme, extended the cut-off date for donations to her annual Each One Reach One campaign by another week.

She said that offerings this year had reached an “all-time low”.

Ms Spence added: “In our 12 years of hosting this event, we have never encountered such a shortfall in donations.”

The Each One Reach One campaign offers school uniforms and underwear for children in need ahead of the start of the school year.

The cut-off date was initially scheduled to be this Friday, but Ms Spence said that the campaign had only raised about $10,000 — a far cry from their $69,000 goal.

Ms Spence, who has been reminding the public of the growing need for assistance for years, said that families were still feeling the “trickle-down effects” of the economic recession during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She explained that many people’s wages had stagnated, while others struggled to find stable work.

Ms Spence added that this long-term recession had the combined effect of increasing the number of families in need and reducing the amount of money people were able to donate.

She said that her office also lost power for several days during Hurricane Ernesto over the weekend, which made it difficult for people to donate cash online.

Ms Spence said: “Despite these challenges, we remain optimistic that Bermuda will come together to support this cause.”

About 500 children have registered to receive a package, but Ms Spence said that, historically, they had seen as many as 1,000 children register by the end of the campaign.

She hopes to have enough donors to match the children in need — otherwise, they will be turned away.

Ms Spence said: “This is something that we have never, ever had to even consider in our 12 years of hosting this event.

“We urge the community to come together in support of our youth, whether you choose to sponsor a child, donate gently used uniforms at the children’s department at Gibbons, or spread the word about our campaign with your family, friends and colleagues.

“With the school year fast approaching, time is of essence.

“Your contribution will have a lasting impact on the lives of our Bermudian children.”

Libby Cook-Toppan, the manager of marketing and e-commerce for Gibbons Company, said the clothing store was “truly honoured” to continue its partnership with the Gina Spence Programme for this drive.

She added: “What they do is unparalleled for the community and we do what we can to help.”

Ms Cook-Toppan said that Gibbons had not changed the prices of their school uniforms since 2022 despite pricing increases across the supply chain.

She added that the store had tried to make uniforms as cost-effective as possible but “there’s so much more that needs to be done”.

Ms Cook-Toppan said: “Every child deserves to be dressed for educational success.”

A first day of school package contains a short-sleeved shirt, a pair of pants or skirt, a pair of school socks, two multipacks of underwear and a backpack.

Packages between sizes 2T and 7 will be $112 dollars; sizes between 8 and 20 will be $132. Husky sizes will cost $138.

The cut-off date for the Each One Reach One campaign is now August 30.

• To donate or register a child for the Each One Reach One campaign, visitwww.gspcharity.com. Donations can also be made at Gibbons Company registers, or by directly transferring to the charity’s HSBC account, 002-051928-001, or its Butterfield Bank account, 0601613480018