Clothing Closet helps parents: Children can pick five free outfits
Published: July 25, 2005
Uniforms, smooniforms.
No matter if they’re the red ones, blue ones or gold ones, Kimberly Ainscoe, is not interested.
The fourth grader would rather pick out colorful T-shirts with her favorite television characters instead of a red collared shirt.
But SpongeBob SquarePants has no chance of showing his cartoony face on Ainscoe or any student’s T-shirt at Cranberry Elementary School.
The home of the cougars are the students who wear mandatory uniforms as voted by parents. While the 9-year-old doesn’t like it, her mother, Renee, says she doesn’t mind at all.
“I voted in favor of uniforms for Cranberry,” Renee Ainscoe said Saturday while browsing for the proper color shorts and tops for each of her three kids at the Children’s Community Clothing Closet. “I think the students look really good in uniform.”
“I don’t,” Kimberly interrupted. “I think they look weird.”
“She doesn’t like them, but she wears them,” Renee said asking Kimberly what’s her favorite uniform color?
“I like blue,” she said as her sister, Jenny, pointed to the stack of freshly picked uniform tops.
“I like all of these colors,” Jenny said with a smile.
Ainscoe said she gets Kimberly at least halfway excited about uniforms by spicing them up with bracelets. Students are allowed to wear matching accessories with their uniforms from socks to hair bows and earrings.
Cranberry Principal Linda Daniels said uniforms help students have a sense of pride.
“If they aren’t worried about what they are wearing, they can concentrate on what they came to school for,” Daniels said.
Uniforms might have been a contributing factor to Cranberry’s success. It’s the only elementary school in North Port to receive an “A” letter grade for overall performance.
Daniels said having all children wearing uniforms evens the playing field for students. All five schools in North Port are Title I schools, meaning more than 35 percent of the children in each school are on free or reduced cost lunch. In North Port that average is slightly higher at about 40 percent or more.
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Real Teens: A Contemporary Snapshot of Youth CultureFor Ainscoe, back-to-school shopping is a challenge. However, she said it has been made easier due to uniform regulations at the school.
“All three of my children are in Cranberry,” she said. “I added it up. We pay about $12 to $25 for a uniform if you get the ones with the logos on them. You have to have about five of them. That adds up. I went sneaker shopping and it was $65. But if I was doing regular clothing shopping for the kids for back-to-school, I would be spending about the same amount or more.”
Ainscoe said since she can’t catch a break on the tax-free week for clothing shopping because it’s not her pay week, she would help subsidize her children’s wardrobe by using the Children’s Community Clothing Closet. Operated by volunteers, the Children’s Closet offers five-free outfits per child every three months. The program works when parents donated quality used or new clothing, pajamas and shoes that their children have outgrown. Some students donate quality used school uniforms to the closet.
“I did really well today,” she said. “There were a few shirts and shorts here in the uniform colors. Kim must not dislike the uniforms or school too much because she is picked out a cougar (school mascot) shirt here to wear on her days off from school.”
While tax-free holiday ends midnight Sunday, the Children’s Community Clothing Closet is open 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the building behind Al Goll Hall (now the YMCA) on Sam Shapos Way, by the city pool, in North Port every Saturday.
The closet is open for donations during this time. The Children’s Closet is run by Early Bird Kiwanis Club volunteers, which have partnered with the city of North Port, Noon Kiwanis, Children First, Rotary, Contractor’s Association and health department for the annual Back-to-School Resource Expo from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 30 at North Port High School.
Parents can learn all about programs, school registration, services and other opportunities available to children in North Port, including free immunizations. Parents can also receive a free backpack filled with school supplies for each child who attends the expo. Parents must provide proof of residency and have the birth certificate or social security number of each child registering for a free backpack.
“What’s great about our expo is that parents can come on Saturday and get their free items, then they can go shopping for the rest of the school supplies and still get the tax break,” said Early Bird Kiwanian Linda Pickrell. “We also encourage families to donate to the children’s closet when they clean out their children’s rooms. It’s great for parents who want their clothing donation to stay in town instead of going to the Goodwill or other places. It’s great to see how happy children are when they pick out a new shirt or dress they like and it’s their size.”
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