Helping those in need in North East Tennessee.
We recently conducted a community assessment to determine the unmet needs of children in our area. Of the 34 elementary, middle, and high schools that participated in our survey, 2,944 children (21%) of the 13,962 enrolled were in need of shoes, clothing and/or personal care items. 29 Head Start centers also participated in our survey and 349 (67%) of their 523 currently enrolled students, were in need of shoes and clothing.
When children’s essential needs such as shoes and clothing are not met, this can have a direct negative impact on their school success. Our goal is to provide these children with the opportunity to succeed by meeting their essential needs of shoes, clothing, and personal care items and we cannot do it alone. We need your help. Our new program, Clothing Our Children, is scheduled to begin in July, 2018 and will provide these essential items to students in the eight county region of Northeast Tennessee through a referral process. Children in need will be referred to us by school nurses, counselors or other staff members. Shoes, clothing and other needed items will be delivered by our volunteers to the school, where a school staff member will distribute the items to the child in need.