Collection boxes will be at Bank of America locations Thursday, July 29 through Friday, August 6, 2010.

“Year after year, our employees are extremely passionate about this event,” said Kellie Manthe, Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Bank of America. “The Back to School Clothing Drive provides supplies to Title 1 schools and the students who truly need assistance. We are proud to know our help really makes a difference in these children’s lives.”

Supplies needed include: child-safe plastic or metal scissors, 24-count boxes of crayons, #2 pencils, colored pencils, 12-inch wood or plastic rulers, glue sticks, single-subject, wide-rule spiral bound notebooks, pencil sharpeners and rubber erasers.

“When students start the school year with a backpack full of new supplies, it facilitates a positive learning experience right from the start,” said Karl Gentles, Director of the Back to School Clothing Drive. “It gives kids a boost of self esteem and clears their minds to get ready to learn.”

The drive is being held in celebration of Bank of America’s newest banking center, at 733 South Watson Road in Buckeye. The grand opening of this location takes place Saturday, July 24 at 10 a.m. and will include a check presentation to the Back to School Clothing Drive.

Founded in 1967, Back to School Clothing Drive is Arizona’s largest provider of new school outfits, uniforms, backpacks and school supplies to children in need. Back to School operates on an annual budget of approximately $1 million with two employees, a 15-member volunteer board of directors and more than 2,500 volunteers.

For more information on the Back to School Clothing Drive, visit www.backtoschoolclothingdrive.com. For additional information on Bank of America, their banking centers and community involvement, please visit www.bankofamerica.com.

]]> http://www.backtoschoolclothingdrive.com/archives/677/feed 0 http://www.backtoschoolclothingdrive.com/archives/665 http://www.backtoschoolclothingdrive.com/archives/665#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:59:45 +0000 krissy http://www.backtoschoolclothingdrive.com/?p=665 The 2010 “New Clothes, New Beginnings” distribution event started last week with volunteers stuffing backpacks, sorting items, and setting up clothing stations, while the actual distribution of items began this past Monday. Out of those approximately 64 work hours, volunteer Brooke Kramer has been there for 35 of them– more than half! That commitment alone is impressive, but when you learn that Brooke isn’t quite 15 years old, it becomes downright inspiring. After all, how many teenagers want to invest that much of their summer vacations in helping other people?

“I can’t imagine living my life without service,” says Brooke. “I really like seeing the kids come and get excited  for all of their new stuff. It is so much fun!”

Brooke first became involved with Back to School Clothing Drive through the National Charities League, an organization that has mothers  and daughters performing community service together.  She explains that normally girls join NCL in the seventh grade, but she didn’t get involved until the eighth grade, which meant she had to make up the 20 community service hours she missed. “The clothing drive seemed like a great way to do that. Then, we really liked it so we kept coming back. Having all of my friends here doing it too is great.”  

While volunteering started out as a way for Brooke to give back, it ended up giving her the opportunity to attend a private high school. She is now entering her sophomore year at Notre Dame Preparatory Academy on a service scholarship from the Catholic Community Foundation. Brooke hasn’t decided if she wants to continue her education close to home at Arizona State University or a little farther away at Stanford, but no matter where she ends up she will work to make it a better place.

Each year, Kathy’s goal is to sew more uniforms than she did the year before. In 2006, her first year in Stitches of Love, she was recovering from a serious injury and sewed three outfits. She said her efforts were so well received and appreciated that the next year, when she felt a bit better, she far surpassed her previous contribution and made 200 uniforms! Last year she managed to sew 327, a number which prompted her husband, Jim, to suggest she should shoot for 365 – one uniform for each day of the year! Amazingly enough, Kathy did it – and then some!

Kathy explains: “I have a side business of sewing and selling doll clothes on Ebay. The money I make from that is what I put into the Back to School effort.” Basically, she says, she works on her Ebay offerings until about February and then kicks her uniform-sewing efforts into high gear. She is quick to mention that the support of her husband is a critical factor in her high production levels.

As for her inspiration? It is a memory she has from the only time she worked the “New Clothes, New Beginnings” distribution event. “I was at the last station and this little girl looked at me at smiled ear-to-ear,” Kathy says. “She told me it was the first time she ever had a new dress. That is what keeps me making more.”

The supplies came from many generous individuals and organizations including Bank of America, which held numerous “School Supply Drives” throughout the year. Their efforts resulted in the delivery of 40 palettes full of merchandise. Representatives from US Airways, the National Charities League, Boys Team Charities, and the Desert Vista Spirit Line were on hand to make sure each of the needed items were placed in one of the thousands of donated backpacks.

About 5,000 kids will receive their goodies at the event, which is taking place at University Public Schools Phoenix (formerly Phoenix Preparatory Academy), while another 4,000 will receive their backpacks through the BHHS Legacy Foundation’s “Backpack Buddies” program. The remaining 500 packs will be distributed through six local nonprofit and community-based organizations. Thank you to eveyone who made this year’s event such a success!

A Phoenix high school gym is getting boxes full of clothes and supplies, shoes and backpacks shipped in for kids who need them.

The Back to School Clothing Drive aims to help more than 9,000 kids be prepared for the first day of school.

Money raised all year bought the items, to go to the kids in the neediest neighborhoods. It otherwise costs about $300 to send one kid back to school.

For many families, purchasing school clothing is a very difficult financial challenge. The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust and the Back to School Clothing Drive addresses this need through their collaborative efforts. Once the school receives the funds from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, the school then applies for a matching grant at www.backtoschoolclothingdrive.com. Matching funds are limited and first-come-first-serve so schools are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Double Your Funds through the Back to School Clothing Drive
Combining the Back to School Clothing Drive SAFE matching grant with the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust funds DOUBLES the money schools have to spend on their students. There is no other program like it in the State of Arizona and is not offered by any other school uniform provider or local retailer. More than 59 percent of schools say shopping convenience and 48 percent said price were the determining factor in shopping with the Back to School Clothing Drive.

Upon approval the school gains immediate access to the online retail store via www.backtoschoolclothingdrive.com, to purchase their required school clothing. Schools receiving a matching grant from the Back to School Clothing Drive must purchase their uniforms through the online retail store.

Why Shop with the Back to School Clothing Drive?
The process is fast, convenient and dramatically increases the funds you have available. Additional advantages of purchasing uniform and non-uniform school clothing through the Back to School Clothing Drive include:
• Uniforms in your school’s colors and, in the fall 2010, a private label brand, and line of non-uniform clothes.
• Competitive pricing in comparison to big-box retailers.
• Convenience of shopping online – no more running around town tying to find the lowest price or fire sales.
• FREE and direct delivery to your office/school.
• Net proceeds from sales through our store are reinvested into the organization to make more matching grants available for your school and other Title 1 schools.

More than 90 percent of schools choose Back to School Clothing Drive
Since launching the online retail store in May 2009, more than 100 schools receiving Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust funds took advantage of the Back to School Clothing Drive SAFE matching grant and purchased clothes in our online retail store. More than 90 percent of schools receiving our grant said they were very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, or satisfied with our program and clothing and 89 percent say they will take advantage of the program again for the coming school year. Over 88 percent said they would recommend our SAFE matching grant program and online retail store to another school.

Improved Program, Improved Merchandise
We have made significant improvements to our program and merchandise as a result of direct feedback working with our partner schools. Those improvements include:
• Improved overall quality of our clothes.
• Improved the order deliver time to approximately one week.
• Improved our online ordering process.
• Partnered with new vendors to deliver the quality and value you want.
• Offering new styles including scooters, front-zip sweaters, upgraded polo shirts, upgraded shorts, upgraded pants, and new long-sleeve polo shirts.
• A new line of non-uniform clothes coming in the fall of 2010 to include hoodies, tee-shirts, muscle shirts, non-uniform collar shirts, and casual pants.

Together we can serve more kids and make a difference in their lives. We look forward to you taking advantage of this unique benefit available only to Title 1 schools exclusively through the Back to School Clothing Drive. For more information on our SAFE program and to apply for the matching grant contact Jean Pegler, Program Administrator, at (623) 842-1727 or jean@backtoschoolclothingdrive.com.