Core Programs
Serving Kids Clothing Program,
a program of The Jefferson Foundation
The stories from teachers and principals were shocking. A little girl reduced to tears daily because her clothes were much too big for her. A high school student who wore the same pair of dirty jeans to school every day for weeks. A brother and sister who couldn't seem to make it to school on the same day of during winter.
Further investigation revealed that in each instance, students' education was affected by something most of us take for granted: clean, comfortable, appropriate clothing. The little girl was wearing her mother's skirts, tied up with kitchen twine. The high school boy only had one pair of pants and no washing machine at home. The brother and sister were sharing a coat for the walk to school, so only one of them got to go to school when the weather was cold.
These situations, along with countless others, prompted a group of retired school employees and community volunteers to found the Serving Kids program.
Download a Serving Kids Brochure. (Adobe PDF file)
Jeffco Schools staff: Download a Serving Kids clothing request form: www.jcaajeffco.org/servingkids
To make a secure online monetary donation to Serving Kids click here. Make sure to indicate Serving Kids in the comment section.
Staffed entirely by volunteers and supported with publicity, financial management and oversight by The Jefferson Foundation, the Jeffco Schools employee organizations, and the Jeffco Council of PTA, the Serving Kids program provided more than 13,000 articles of clothing to over 1,100 students in the 2010-2011 school year.
The program is also supported with clothing drives and donations from around the community. Notable partners have included Southwest Plaza, which donated a storefront to serve as a collection point; Chad's Grill and Jose O'Shea's restaurants in Lakewood; dozens of Jeffco schools, which held clothing drives year-round; and the Messy Rooms Foundation, which was founded by two students in the Five Parks neighborhood of Arvada to collect children's clothing for the program.
Jeffco Schools staff requests student clothing. Typical orders include three pairs of pants, five shirts, underwear and socks, a coat and hat, gloves, new shoes and usually a sweater or sweatshirt. "Filled" orders are then picked up by school staff and given to students in the privacy of the school, eliminating travel obstacles for families already stretched to the limit.
"Response to the program's mission is tremendous," said Katie Tiernan, executive director of the Foundation. "We have people cleaning out their kids' closets and bringing in bags of clean clothing, mailing checks to buy shoes, and even buying new clothes for children they will never meet."
Clothing donations for Serving Kids may be dropped off at
The Jefferson Foundation (809 Quail St., Bldg. #1, Lakewood, CO 80215) Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Make checks payable to The Jefferson Foundation.
To volunteer with Serving Kids or to find out more about accessing the program for Jeffco students, please call JCAA at 303.982.2225 or visit www.jcaajeffco.org/servingkids.