Uniforms For Hope

There are over 260 million children worldwide not attending school. One huge reason is they can't afford a mandatory uniform to attend public school. Uniforms for Hope provides uniforms for children so they are able to attend school and get an education.

Uniforms for Hope was founded by a simple need for school uniforms. There are so many children worldwide not attending public school all because they can't afford a uniform. They are orphaned or come from poor families. By providing a uniform these children can get an education and have a better chance to get out of their poverty. It is life-changing for these children. The most common response we get from the children is thank-you for giving us a uniform and not asking anything in return when you don't even know us. They are grateful and take great pride in doing well in school.

We do an annual Zumba dance fundraiser for uniforms for girls in Kenya. They live in a remote area in the Maasai Village. These girls would be married off at 11 or 12 to older men with multiple wives. By providing a uniform these girls can get in school and once through high school will have an opportunity for a better life. We were able to raise enough funds to provide uniforms for 200 girls to attend school. Another benefit is we personally knew the woman in Kenya that started the two schools and she was able to buy the material and supplies and have the local woman make the uniforms and allow them to be helped financially.

There are 10,000 children in Cambodia attending Government schools in the Ampil Commune and the Angkor Thom Commune. There was a need for 1,000 uniforms for needy children. We started doing an annual 5k to raise funds for these uniforms. We provided them all with uniforms and we were able to have those uniforms made by the local seamstresses in the community.

We provided 45 uniforms for children in need in the area of Goma in eastern Congo. There is a leadership academy there with over 500 students and we were able to provide the needy 45 with uniforms so they could attend.

We now have 11 projects to provide school uniforms. We have just provided (August 2024) 1,368 school uniforms to elementary school children in the 23 Anaheim Public elementary schools.

Our most pressing need is finances. To continue to give on an ongoing basis in Lebanon, Tanzania, Kenya, Cambodia, Congo, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, India, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Orange County CA. Our present needs are for Uganda $32,240, and Anaheim, CA $25,000. We are continuing to get more requests than we have funds. So additional financial assistance is always a need. We would love to have corporate as well as individual sponsors to not only help with donations, but with overhead expenses. All the staff is volunteer and do not receive any compensation.

We help children worldwide. We presently have helped children in Kenya, Cambodia, Lebanon, Congo and Tanzania. The need for uniforms is huge and we have been asked for uniforms in Uganda and Sri Lanka.

Uniforms for Hope was started by Maureen Maloof. I had always had a passion for travel and helping children. I traveled to over 40 countries and visited schools and orphanages around the world. While visiting one of the schools a teacher mentioned that many children were not attending school because they couldn't afford the mandatory uniform. That really struck me and I came home and did some research and found out that over 260 million children are not going to school worldwide and I decided to change that statistic. I believe education is the only way out of their poverty. I believe in a world where every child deserves an education and I will not stop until that happens. I want to change the world "One Uniform at at time."

I founded Uniforms For Hope out of a need I saw and took action to help with the problem. We have done well getting into countries and providing uniforms for children to be able to attend school. Our biggest challenge is financial. We have a huge need for uniforms and always need more funding to provide them. We also need individual as well as corporate sponsors who could provide ongoing financial support. Any help with fundraising and volunteering is always appreciated. All those involved with Uniforms for Hope volunteer and no salaries are taken.