If you’re looking for a way to help families in need, now is a perfect opportunity to support the KCS / PTA Clothing Center.
The Center is holding its Spring Clothing Drive through Friday afternoon, with donations of gently used clothing items accepted at 1000 N. Central Street, Suite 7.
Areas of particular need include:
- Boys clothes sizes 10-12 through 18-20;
- Boys and girls shorts of all sizes; and
- New boys underwear sizes 4, 6 and 8.
The Clothing Center allows students in financial need to obtain clothes once during each semester, and will also provide items for students in emergency situations.
Families are served by appointment only, and must obtain a clothing card from the school they attend. Clothing recipients also must be KCS students in grades Pre-K through 12 who meet income level requirements of the Free and Reduced Meal Program, with the exception of emergencies such as a home fire or displacement.
Pat Johnson, who leads the Center, said social workers will sometimes come in to get clothes for their clients, including one who brought a young boy who was wearing his sister’s clothes and no underwear.
The Center also sees grandparents who are caring for their grandchildren, but are living on a fixed income. Johnson said recipients are often relieved to get assistance. “They’re saying now they get to put this money somewhere else, such as in their gas tank or putting food on the table,” she said.
While the Center accepts clothing donations all year, it holds Spring and Fall Clothing Drives to focus attention on the need during these transitional seasons.
The Center accepts girls and women’s clothing from sizes 4 through 6X, and boys or men’s clothing up to a waist size of 68. Donations are taken until 3:30 on weekdays, and can also be dropped off at the Teacher Supply Depot, 709 N. Cedar Bluff Road.
The Center also accepts monetary donations, and uses funding from the United Way to buy new items including jeans, t-shirts, socks, and underwear.
For more information, please visit the Clothing Center website.