Clothes for Kids in Lynnwood may receive its largest-ever donation of new children’s shoes this year, thanks to the work of six service-minded community members.
About six months ago, a group of volunteers through Snohomish County Leadership approached Clothes for Kids director Sharie Ennis to ask what the non-profit organization needed most.
The answer came as a challenge: 1,000 new shoes in all sizes for kids ages kindergarten through eighth grade.
Over the next few months, the group, including Lisa Nielsen, Marie Bradford, Mike Neumeister, Marc Georgeadis, Pat Copeland and Faith Lumsden, filled out grant applications, created a marketing brochure, set up contacts around the county and collected new shoe donations here and there. They also received generous donations from the Lynnwood and Alderwood Rotary, said volunteer Pat Copeland.
But it was a few weeks ago that the group learned it would be awarded a $2,500 grant through the Fred Meyer Foundation for its project. In addition, the group will get a significant discount on its shoe purchase.
The group is planning to go to the Evergreen Way Fred Meyer in Everett Tuesday, Nov. 4 to purchase as many shoes as they can.
“This is a real bonus for our organization, and we’re hoping the connections stay secure in the future,” Ennis said. “(A donation like this) happens once in a while, but it’s usually just five or six pairs – not enough to meet the needs of 1,600 plus kids.”
When deciding what kind of a non-profit organization they wanted to work with, the volunteers said the idea of Clothes for Kids came easily.
“We wanted to do something that had a tangible effect on kids in the community,” volunteer Faith Lumsden said. “I think many of us wanted to do something we could connect to easily, and believe supporting children is an investment in the future.”
Still, the challenge has proved to be more difficult than they expected.
“It’s really hard – it’s not that easy to get 1,000 pairs of shoes donated,” Copeland said.
The group said they are unsure of just how many shoes the grant will pay for and how many more they will need to meet their goal.
Lumsden added that while the group is excited about the progress they have made, “I think it’s a drop in the bucket. It’s a sad statement that it was hard to raise the contribution level to where we are today, and we really haven’t gotten anywhere close to touching the ongoing need of shoes for kids.”
While Lumsden said the group learned a lot about the work non-profit organizations have to put in just to survive, they also realized just how great the need really is for new shoes and other clothing items for kids.
“We gained a real awareness for the need, not just for shoes but for social services across the county,” Lumsden said.
Leadership Snohomish County is an ongoing project that connects people in the community with various experiences in volunteering and business to work on a joint volunteer project. It is sponsored by the Snohomish County chamber of commerce, United Way and other major employers in the county.
To make a donation to Clothes for Kids, call Sharie Ennis at 425-670 7285.
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