2010 New Clothes New Beginnings Annual Distribution
Overview: “New Clothes, New Beginnings” Distribution
A student looks over the selection of bracelets in the Stitches of Love Department
Students are selected by a parent coordinator, social worker or school nurse using a strict process to ensure the neediest children are served. Throughout the week, the children are bused to the gymnasium at Phoenix Preparatory Academy, which is transformed into a first-class department store. The only difference about this store is that money isn’t required! Our student shoppers receive everything free of charge.
Upon arrival, the students are matched with their own personal shopper (a trained volunteer) who helps them select a brand new school wardrobe, including: two shorts or skorts, two polo shirts, one sweatshirt, one belt, three pairs of socks and underwear, one pair of sneakers, one backpack, one hand-made item sewn by a Stitches-of-Love volunteer seamstress, dozens of school supplies, and personal hygiene items.
A personal shopper volunteer helps a student shop for his clothes.
Eligibility
General Information
Back to School Clothing Drive is proud to be the largest and oldest distributor of school uniforms, backpacks, and school supplies to at-risk children throughout Maricopa County.
Please note, Back to School Clothing Drive is not a direct service provider to individuals or the general public. We work exclusively through Valley elementary schools. Schools eligible for our program are those designated as a “Title I” school (By Department of Education criteria) with the majority of its students participating in a free or reduced lunch program. Additionally, our program exclusively serves children in grades K-6 (or ages 5-12). As much as we would like to, we cannot accommodate any children outside of these parameters.
Partner schools are allocated anywhere between 50-100 spaces for students at their school and are registered well in advance of the distribution event. We cannot accept walk-in students on site during distribution week, and parents are not allowed to accompany their children.
If you are unsure if your child is eligible, contact his or her elementary school and ask if they participate in our programs. If so, they can help you sign up.
Schools and social service agency participation
If you represent a “Title I” elementary school or a social service agency serving children in Maricopa County you may be able to participate in the “New Clothes, New Beginnings” program on a first-come, first-served basis.
Schools should contact their superintendents to determine if other schools in the district participate in the program. If yes, you can email us at info@backtoschoolclothingdrive.com to register your school.
All participating schools and agencies are required to bus their children to and from the event. NO EXCEPTIONS. Student family members are not allowed to attend or provide transportation to distribution. Participants from each school must arrive together as a group on the same bus and leave as a group on the same bus. AGAIN, NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE.
Additionally, all social service agencies must arrange group transportation for their participating children to and from the event. If transportation cannot be arranged, your school, agency or organization cannot participate. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Ineligible families needing assistance
If your child needs clothing and school supplies you can contact his or her elementary school and ask if there are clothes available from their clothing closets. Alternatively, you can also contact the Salvation Army, Assistance League of Phoenix, or the City of Phoenix Family Services Center for potential assistance.
July 12 – 16, 2010
University Public Schools Phoenix
Set up takes place July 7 – 10, 2010
Download registration information
Anatomy of A Distribution Event
During one magical week in July, busloads of low-income students from across the Valley are transported to a magical place – the annual distribution event. The week prior to the students arriving, the University Public Schools Phoenix, the official site of the Back to School Clothing Drive Distribution, is buzzing with more than 2,500 volunteers who transform the gym into a department store shopping center for the kids. The following week, the school representatives arrive with their registered children who are then assigned a personal shopper (volunteer)and go on their own personal shopping spree receiving the following all free. Each student receives:
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Back to School purchases these items through our vending partner Team Shop Premiums.
Week #1 – Set-up Week
Move in and Set-up - Volunteers work together to unload trucks filled with items purchased or donated throughout the year, count inventory, and set up each department in a layout designed to allow each child through each department to do their shopping the following week. The typical set up week begins with:
Day 1 – Truck unloading day: 40 pallets of merchandise are delivered to the Phoenix Preparatory Academy, courtesy of our storage partner, Freeport Logistics, and unloaded into the gymnasium.
Day 2 - Inventory day and backpack setup: Thousands of shirts, shorts, sweaters, shoes and other merchandise are verified. Assembly lines are set up for one of the most popular days of our event – backpack stuffing day.
Day 3 - Backpack stuffing day: We call it the invasion of the teenagers because almost 1,000 high school kids from across the Valley descend on the gym and stuff backpacks faster than you can imagine. High school students from Desert Vista, Brophy, St. Mary’s, Corona Del Sol and others, stuff over 5,000 backpacks full of crayons, pencils, paper, notebooks, glue, rulers, dental hygiene items and more, making it truly make this one of the most exciting days leading up to the Distribution event.
Day 4 – Department store setup: Now the gym makes its total transformation from a basketball gymnasium to a department store that rivals Target and Wal-Mart. Volunteers unpack and arrange merchandise on our shelves creating the following departments:
- Stitches of Love Department - A true shopping experience! Kids get to choose from beautiful hand sewn and store-bought items which include; shirts, dresses, skirts, tops, shorts and pants. There is also an accessory table where boys choose a handmade key ring or zipper pull and a knit cap. Girls select from a dazzling array of purses, bracelets, scrunchies and skinny scarves.
- Walk in my Shoes Department - Girls and boys sneakers sizes 1 – 13 make up one of the most popular departments with volunteers and the kids.
- Dress for Success Department - School uniforms including shirts, shorts, skorts, belts, socks and underwear are provided based on the school color uniforms. Each child gets a white shirt and a second shirt specific to the school required color, a navy blue sweatshirt, navy or Khaki shorts or skorts depending upon the child’s preference., a black belt, boxers, briefs, and girls regular styles along with crew cut, ankle, or knee-high white socks.
- Pack-full of Learning – Stuffed with pens, pencils, notebooks, paper, crayons, glue, and a variety of hygiene items, the backpacks are as popular today as when you were in school. Volunteers love backpack stuffing day – it draws the most volunteers of any set up day throughout the week.
Then it’s time for Distribution as the following week is what all of our volunteers have worked so hard all week to prepare and our kids have waited all year for — Distribution show time!
Week #2 - Distribution Showtime!
More than 5,000 students from over 130 Title 1 schools descend on Phoenix Preparatory Academy. Approximately 40 students from each school are bussed in from their respective schools and begin by registering in the auditorium. Each child has been previously selected by their school social worker or other administrator and comes with their registration slip already filled out with their clothes sizes, uniform colors and other details required to make the distribution success. Distribution begins at 8 a.m. and runs until approximately 3 p.m. each day.
After registration, the kids are escorted into the gymnasium and paired up with a personal shopper, one of several hundred volunteers who escort the children through the departments and fills their bag up with the items of their choice. Each child is fitted for the appropriate shirt, shoes, shorts, skorts, belts, and more personal items from the Stitches of Love department. After receiving all of their items including their shoes and backpacks, they are escorted back to the auditorium and then onto their bus and back to their school. The entire process takes about one hour.
The smiles that leave with the kids are worth every minute spent helping at Distribution. Volunteer a day, a week, or even one hour. You won’t soon forget the experience.
