Clothes For Kids
Kids Need School Clothing Throughout the Year. By Joy Ingram.
Each year during the December holidays, thoughts are on children--their dreams, their wishes, and most importantly their needs. But, if a child is genuinely in need, his or her needs do not go away once the new year arrives. Clothes For Kids is here in Edmonds working year-round to make sure students have their school clothing needs met throughout the year.
Since 1984, Clothes For Kids has provided school wardrobes to low-income students in the Edmonds School District. The mission of Clothes For Kids is to help qualified community members build confidence and self-sufficiency by providing quality wardrobes and resources.
“We are experiencing a dramatic increase in demand from our community and with that demand comes the need to fill our shelves so students have the opportunity to shop a well-
rounded selection of clothing,” says Nancy Laird-Burris, Program Manager for Clothes For Kids. “It’s a year-round effort to make sure we have the clothing to meet the growing demand,” adds Joy Ingram, Development Director for Clothes For Kids. “Our year starts in July when volunteers help to sort donations, lost and found, and set up the store for students to begin shopping for the upcoming school year.”
Clothes For Kids opened its doors for student “shopping” on August 20th, since that time they have provided more than 2,300 school wardrobes. “The first few months are our busiest as we rush to meet the needs of students headed back to school,” says Laird-Burris. “The need continues as the cold weather sets in and students outgrow last year’s clothing. With the communities support, we will remain open for shopping through March.”
In order to provide a combination of new and gently used clothing, Clothes For Kids volunteers and staff work year-round to collect donations from the community. Many organizations, companies, schools, and churches step up to the call by organizing clothing
drives. “Clothing drives help us fill specific needs in our inventory and allow us to keep our
expenses within our small budget,” says Ingram.
In addition to clothing drives, staff and volunteers shop holiday sales and clearance racks to purchase much-needed clothing at huge discounts. “Whenever possible, we try to pay less than 25% of retail,” says Laird-Burris.
With many families feeling the effects of this difficult economy, every penny counts. Especially during the colder months, budgets are stretched due to power bills and this leaves no room for anything extra. Clothes For Kids is ready to answer the call and anticipates serving close to 4,000 students this school year. With the winter season approaching, people--specifically children--in our community deserve the opportunity to have clothing, socks and shoes to keep them warm.
The vision of Clothes For Kids is to empower students this year and set children and teens up for success one wardrobe at a time. Quite often, families have a difficult time keeping up with new clothing, let alone the current trends that many teens desire. Peer pressure can take a toll on students who come from struggling families. Clothing can make a surprising impact on student success and their ability to focus on learning while they are in school.
Making sure that the clothing needs of kids are met has an amazing trickle-down effect for good. “We find the entire family benefits from the program by relieving the parents of the added expense of school clothes so they can focus their limited resources on other basic needs and essentials,” says Laird-Burris.
Clothes For Kids is supported through community contributions of both cash and clothing. They receive no government funding and manage to serve each student for less than $68 per wardrobe. Children are referred to the program by their school, making the process very simple and easy for the families to get to the shop. While the program is set up like a retail store, there is no cash register and families never pay for their school wardrobe.
In the spring, when Clothes For Kids is closed to shoppers, the volunteers continue to work to re-inventory the store. They hold an annual rummage sale to sell donated items that don’t fit into the School Wardrobe program. In June, the volunteers begin to sort through a mountain of clothing that comes from unclaimed lost and found collected from more than 90 local schools. Clothing drives continue year-round, and while the shop is closed to students, Clothes For Kids accepts donations twelve months of the year. In Snohomish County, more than 40,000 students are on free or reduced lunch. This is the qualifier for Clothes For Kids, with more than half of the students served by Clothes For Kids each year coming from the Edmonds School District. Even as workforce opportunities improve, it is a slow process for families to get back on their feet. Students struggle when their families are forced to go without. With Clothes For Kids providing school wardrobes, there is one less thing families in Snohomish County have to worry about.
Clothes For Kids plans to continue growing and providing this much-needed program for many years to come. With community support, they can build awareness and continue to bring valuable resources to our area’s most vulnerable populations. For ways that you can help and to learn more about Clothes For Kids, please check out their website at www.clothesforkids.org.
