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Student Project: Clothing Closet

Brandeis Zaklan

Counseling 576: Parents, Families and Communities in Schools

Tyece Okamura, RN, BA, MSEd.

It was an exceptionally hot day late in May when Shuntiarra Biggers a 4th grade student was sent to the counseling office. She had tears streaking down her cheeks but she was defiant, with her chin pushed out ready to fight. Shuntiarra had been sent to my office at recess because she refused to listen to the duty at recess and take off her jacket which was clearly to warm to be wearing. When Shuntiarra sat down in my office, I asked her why she had tears on her cheeks. She told me with a quiet matter of factness: Because I was crying. I gently told her that I could see she had been crying, handed her a tissue and explained that I wanted to know what had happened to make one of my students cry at school. She told me how the duty wouldnt let her play unless she removed her coat, but she couldnt. I asked what made it that she couldnt take her coat off? Was the zipper broken? No, no. She said. I cant take it off because my shirt is so dirty. Breaking into sobs she tells me, My mom didnt have any money to do the laundry and this is the only shirt I have and I wore it every day this week. I spilled mustard on it yesterday and it smells bad. Shuntiarra cries so hard out of shame and embarrassment. It breaks my heart, because none of this is her fault. It isnt her fault her family is living in poverty. There isnt much she can do about it and she is doing her best, but there is something I can do. The first thing I do is give Shuntiarra a lollipop and coloring book, while I go down to the lost and found and find a the cleanest shirt I can in her size. I bring it back to Shutiarra and she reluctantly puts it on. She is grateful for the shirt, but afraid someone else will recognize it and say she stole it. I tell her if anyone says anything, you tell them that I spilled my coffee on your shirt so I went and got this one for you. She says okay, and goes on to recess, but this leaves me thinking. How can I help Shutiarra and the other students in my school that I know must be facing some of the same situations? How can I help alleviate the concern of clothing so that the students can come to school with at least one less worry on their mind?

I go to the counseling office next to mine to see if my co-counselor Rob is free to brainstorm this idea with me. Rob is free and as concerned as I am about this issue facing our students. We sit down and sketch out an idea that we present at our next staff meeting. The idea is received well, we get several volunteers, and the Principal asks that we bring the idea to the PTG meeting at the end of the week. We bring the idea to the PTG where it too is well received and we get some great volunteers for our project. The Clothed in Love clothing closet project is a go! Here is what the project looks like logistically: The Stakeholders The Stakeholders in the project will be a combination of community resources from our school, parent, and school district, faith centers, cultural centers, local businesses, local government, local universities and colleges, and local media sources. Within the school we will ask parents to participate in a bi-annual clothing drive, where they can donate clothes they have collected from their own homes, family, and friends. We will ask that all clothes be washed and in good repair. The school, parent, and district volunteers have also agreed to work to be on call to pick up donations from our other community partners, and to man the clothing closet during its hours of operation. All have been briefed on the importance of maintaining confidentiality to maintain the dignity of those who need clothing from the clothing closet. The district has also agreed to move twos mobile trailer/classrooms from Crest school that was closed last year down to our school site, so that we have some place to store the clothing and one to use as the closet to

dispense clothing, and to provide custodians to set up the closet structures and donated tables to place clothing on. Long term we are soliciting donations from local businesses for clothing rounders and we will be hosting a winter cake auction to raise money for the purchase of rounders as well. We will be accepting clothes from newborn thru adult sizes, so that families may come and get the clothing needed for each member in the household, not just the k-5 students at our school. We are also looking forward to collecting clothing appropriate for prom, and any sportswear, athletic equipment, or bikes that our students in need could use as well. We will ask faith and cultural centers to host a similar drive and to share 50% the clothing they receive with us for students. We recognize that they have their own faith community to clothe. The local businesses that we have asked to assist us are two childrens resale clothing businesses that we have requested offer their patrons to donate any clothing that they have brought in that the business does not intend to purchase from them. We have also gotten support from several local area laundry mats that are willing to let us come in and do 20 loads of laundry a month for free. This will allow us to provide clean clothing to students who may not have the means to wash the clothes before wearing. We have partnered with the local colleges and universities so that any clothing items that are left behind by students in dorms can be donated to us each year. They have also agreed to host school sponsored clothing drives for students to donate clothing should they wish, and the sororities and fraternities at each school are also hosting a Giving Party to raise funds and collect new items during the Christmas/Kwanzaa/Chanukah/Holiday season, as well as organizing to drop off all donations the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Our partnership with the local government is essential, as they are a great resource and their many employees will be given an opportunity to donate clothing at work and our parent volunteers will go and pick up all donations when contacted that they a pick-up is needed. In order to further our cause and get exposure for what we are trying to do, we have contacted the local media who has volunteered not only to collect items at their location, but also has offered to feature information on their broadcasts about our bi-annual clothing drive and to do a story about what poverty looks like in Lane County and families in need, with a plug for the public to donate clothing to our school as well. All stakeholders involved have agreed to have one person representing them as a point of contact, and who will attend our bi-annual Clothing Closet meetings. We will issue tax receipts to all those that provide their name and address to our community partners or whom bring donations directly to the school. Meeting with the Stakeholders: At our first meeting in June, we thanked everyone for coming. I shared my story about Shuntiarra (omitting her name of course) and then shared statistics on poverty, and how it affects our school. Some statistics: In 2009, in the United States of America, the poverty threshold for a single person under 65 was US$11,161; the threshold for a family group of four, including two children, was US$21,756. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday September 13th, 2011, the nation's poverty rate rose to 15.1% in 2010.

According to a UN declaration that resulted from the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, absolute poverty is "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services." David Gordon's paper, "Indicators of Poverty & Hunger", for the United Nations, further defines absolute poverty as the absence of any two of the following eight basic needs: Food: Body Mass Index must be above 16. Safe drinking water: Water must not come from solely rivers and ponds, and must be available nearby (less than 15 minutes' walk each way). Sanitation facilities: Toilets or latrines must be accessible in or near the home. Health: Treatment must be received for serious illnesses and pregnancy. Shelter: Homes must have fewer than four people living in each room. Floors must not be made of dirt, mud, or clay. Education: Everyone must attend school or otherwise learn to read. Information: Everyone must have access to newspapers, radios, televisions, computers, or telephones at home. Access to services: This item is undefined by Gordon, but normally is used to indicate the complete panoply of education, health, legal, social, and financial (credit) services. For example, a person who lives in a home with a mud floor is considered severely deprived of shelter. A person who never attended school and cannot read is considered severely deprived of

education. A person who has no newspaper, radio, television, or telephone is considered severely deprived of information. All people who meet any two of these conditions for example, they live in homes with mud floors and cannot read are considered to be living in absolute poverty. I go on to say to them, that we all recognize that poverty in the United States, in Lane County Oregon, isnt the same as it is in all parts of the world, but that here in Lane County there is still much poverty. Students growing up on the streets, living in cars, in houses without electricity or running water, students whose parents are on drugs and dont care for them, all sorts of poverty that impacts the students daily life and impedes their success in school. I know we arent able to solve every problem or make it perfect, but the schools provide free or reduced breakfast and lunch for students, and if we can just provide to opportunity for new, clean, clothing that fits, keeps them warm and helps them feel like they belong, then we are helping make their daily lives that much better and making success more tangible. We as a community can cover our students in love by showing we care enough to clothe them. Timeline All of the stakeholders agree to collect donations from now (June) until the first week of August, when we will all meet again to sort through and organize the clothing we have received. The laundry mat partners have agreed to allow us 100 free loads of wash at each location for our initial startup. The Clothed in Love Clothing Closet will open the week before school M-F from 9-1 p.m. for families to come in and shop. Families will be notified they are eligible to come in and shop in June every year, except this year as we are just getting started. Rob and I, will send out mailers,

call, and email all families that qualify for free or reduced lunches. We will also contact any families that it has been brought to our attention are in need via CASA, DHS, or other resources. The families can come in the week before school to shop, and can contact the counselors or school staff listed as contacts on the information provided them during school hours, throughout the year as needed for additional items as well. The closet will be open the 2nd Friday of each month from 3 p.m. 7 p.m., and the first Sunday of every month from 1 p.m. 4 p.m. as well. The week after Thanksgiving the closet will be open from 2 p.m. 6 p.m. the entire week, and will be open the week following Spring break, and the last week of school for the same schedule as well. It is a work in progress, and there will be things that arise throughout the course of time that need to be addressed and the Clothing Closets progress/concerns/suggestions will be included briefly at each faculty meeting, as well as via the Principal at her district meetings. Ultimately, what I would like to do is have host a workshop to learn about poverty based on: Doing Poverty: Learning Outcomes among Students Participating in the Community Action Poverty SimulationProgram Laura West Steck1, Jennifer N. Engler1, Mary Ligon1, B. Druen1, and Erin Cosgrove1 (sagepub.com) That is included with this paper. I feel it would be a valuable resource in understand

References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_threshold US Census Bureau. "How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty". http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/threshld/thresh09.xls. Retrieved 22 December 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_threshold Fisher, Gordon (2005-12-16). "Relative or Absolute New Light on the Behavior of Poverty Lines Over Time". Department of Health and Human Services. http://aspe.hhs.gov/POVERTY/papers/relabs.htm. Retrieved 2008 -01-16.

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Resources Contact List

Adams Elementary School Clothing Closet 950 West 22nd Avenue, Eugene, OR 97405 Fax: (541) 790-5005 Clothing Closet Phone: (541) 790-1234 Hours of Operation: Days school is in session from 9 a.m. 3 p.m. The week prior to school starting from 9 a.m. 7 p.m. The Clothing Closet is also available for times before each major school break to be scheduled, and as needed in emergency situations. Please, contact any of the School, Parent or District Partners for any donations that you are unable to drop off or need assistance picking up outside of these hours of operation. We will schedule to pick up a.s.a.p. Thank you for your support! Community School, Parent and District Partners: Principal: Cindy Sainz(541) 790-5000 Secretary: Cheryl Lindsey..(541) 790-5000 School Counselor: Brandeis Zaklan(541) 790-5001 School Counselor: Rob Alvarez..(541) 790-0001 PTG Coordinator: Eleanor Roosevelt..(541) 687-5000 PTG Clothing Closet members: Molly Ringwald(541) 683-5050 Princess Diana..(541) 497-6579 Mahatma Ghandi...(541) 687-5677 Coretta Scott King.(541) 657-9807 Community Faith Partners: Centro-De-Fe Spanish Outreach..(541) 485-0132

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Episcopal Campus Ministries...(541) 686-9972 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.(541) 683-2123 Catholic Church-Eugene-St Jude..(541) 344-1191 Lighthouse International Church..(541) 485-5244 ST John Maximovitch Serbian..(541) 484-5810 Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall..(541) 836-7002 Korean Presbyterian Church.(541) 513-2462 ST George Greek Orthodox Church.(541) 683-3519 Asbury United Methodist Church.(541) 688-9271 Lutheran Church United-Elca...(541) 342-5808 Temple Beth Israel(541) 485-7218 Community Cultural Partners: Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians..(541) 484-4234 Islamic Cultural Center.....(541) 334-6793 Community Higher Education Partners: University of Oregon Lisa Williams..(541) 346-1000 Northwest Christian University Amy Ford(541) 349-7475 Lane Community College Foundation...(541) 463-5226 Community Business Partners: Kidstuff.(541) 484-4484 Little People Childrens Clothing.....................................................................(541) 344-5117 Mary Lou's Laundromat(541) 344-6575 Suds N Duds.(541) 454-6754 Mr. Shinys Wash-o-rama.(541) 343-8907

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Community Government Partners: Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Lane County(541) 984-3132 City of Eugene..(541) 682-5010 Community Media Partners: Tom Brokaw KEZI news desk(541) 657-8909 Larry King Register Guard.(541) 675-7658

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