Clothe-A-Child - December 8th & 9th

The Salvation Army's annual Clothe-A-Child Winter Shopping Spree is a wonderful program that allows teachers in the Spokane School District to nominate students to receive new winter clothing. With their parent's permission, the children are treated to an adult-chaperoned winter clothing shopping spree at J.C. Penney, as well as, a Christmas Party at The Salvation Army Community Center.

One-hundred-and-fifty boys and girls, ages six to twelve, are nominated to participate in the Clothe-A-Child program. These children are not only able to select new, warm clothing in their own size, but they also get to select the styles and colors they believe to be "cool" - something very important when wanting to fit in at school.

J.C.Penney

Through internal fundraising, J.C. Penney employees provide each child with an additional $10.00 Gift Card to be spent on any item of their choice. Some children chose to wait and use their gift card at a later date. Others are able to purchase a toy they had been eyeing while picking out clothing. And some children selected a gift for parents or siblings, but all were so excited to have this additional surprise!

The Children

Each year there are stories of the life situations these children are coming from, and just how much this event means to them-one little girl told her shopping chaperone that it was "the best day of [her] life." Here are just two of these stories.

Keith* and his three younger siblings were all chosen by their school counselor to be a part of the Clothe-A-Child program. The chaperone Keith was paired with was so impressed with Keith's meticulous method of shopping! Keith had at first selected a certain pair of pants, but then later exchanged them for another because they were six dollars less expensive. And only after much persistence did the chaperone convince Keith to be treated to a much needed pair of shoes he originally thought "cost too much." This is one boy who was very used to going without and he wanted to make his $100.00 stretch as far as it could! After all the shopping had been done, and the kids were waiting to board the bus to return to the community Center, Keith and his siblings reunited and excitedly shared with each other their new purchases.

The Bailey* girls were also desperately in need of some new clothes and waterproof snow boots. When they returned home to show Mom all their new stuff, she and her husband were deeply moved and so grateful for what they were not able to provide for their children. Mrs. Bailey sent The Salvation Army a card saying, "All these years I have been dropping dollar bills in the [red kettles] and I never thought our girls would be part of your program…you folks are awesome!"

Donations

It is because of the support of the Spokane Community that The Salvation Army is able to provide the Clothe-A-Child experience to new children every year. Those interested sponsoring a child should contact The Salvation Army at 325-6810. Every penny donated to this program goes directly to clothing the children; none is taken to administer this event.

Volunteers

Part of what makes this event so special is that each child gets one-on-one attention from their shopping chaperone-a volunteer who cares about children and wants them to feel good about themselves. To volunteer as a shopping chaperone during one of three shifts, please contact The Salvation Army at 325-6810. All volunteers must be at least 18 years of age, and must pass a background check.