Clothes To Kids seeking donations to meet clothing needs for thousands of Bay Area students
TAMPA, Fla. - Walking into the grassroots nonprofit Clothes To Kids feels like stepping into a regular department store, but with one key difference.
"We are no different than any big-box retailer except the kids get to come in and get a week’s worth of school clothes, up to 22 pieces, all free of charge," Jennifer Jacobs, executive director of Clothes To Kids, said.
The free clothing store has been serving the community for more than 20 years.
"We’ve served the greater Tampa Bay community by providing new and quality used clothing to low-income or in-crisis school-aged children; more than 223,000 wardrobes and counting," Jacobs said.
Pictured: Clothes To Kids.
What they're saying:
Betty Eheart says Clothes To Kids has been a blessing for her family.
"My kids really enjoy it," said Eheart. "They love coming here to shop. We’ve been coming here for about four years now. It’s truly a gift to them."
Pictured: Betty Eheart.
Leigh Feuer has been a volunteer at the Hillsborough County store since it opened seven years ago.
"I love working with kids," said Feuer. "I love clothes. I was a teacher, so this was kind of the perfect fit for me."
Pictured: Leigh Feuer.
More than half of all children in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties qualify to shop at the store.
"We are in need of volunteers and clothes because we’re anticipating providing more than 7,800 wardrobes this back-to-school season," Jacobs said.
The store includes boys’ and girls’ departments, a uniform section, and even shoes. Their goal: help students feel confident at school.
Pictured: Clothes To Kids.
"It makes all the difference when you have on something that makes you feel confident and ready to learn," Jacobs said.
But the store is running low on help and on clothing.
"We are anticipating more than 7,800 children. That equates to over 171,000 articles of clothing going out of our stores this summer," Jacobs said.
Pictured: Clothes To Kids.
What's next:
June kicks off the "Drop Off Your Drawers" Campaign, with a goal of collecting more than 82,000 pairs of new underwear for kids in the community.
For more information on Clothes To Kids, click here.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13 photojournalist Bryan Gray.
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