It can be hard for a student to pay attention in school when they don't have a warm coat or a good pair of shoes. That's why Bright Futures Siloam Springs will be providing more than 320 students, from prekindergarten through high school, with coats and new shoes during the second annual Winter Giveaway on Saturday.
Every child on the school district's list will get a brand new pair of shoes and socks, along with a coat, and every family will get a bag of groceries, according to Sarah Jones, director of the Bright Futures Program. Children will also get to chose a book to take home.
Bright Futures goal is to help provide for student's basic needs so they can focus on learning, according to Grace Davis, director of community relations for the school district.
"We want our students to know that we care about them, and that this community cares about them and we support them," Jones said. "(We will do) anything we can do to take away the barriers they have so they can be successful at school."
Non-profits, churches, businesses and individuals in the community have came together to make the donations possible, according to Jones. For example, members of the First Assembly church collected 280 new shoes. The Dustin Chamberlain Memorial Foundation also donated 18 pairs of shoes, and will also be donating coats and volunteering time to the giveaway event.
Some local businesses held coat drives, while others donated new coats and shoes. Non-profits, such as Potter's House, also held coat drives. School employees worked together to collect food for the grocery bags.
"We have people calling us everyday asking how they can be involved and what they can do, it's been incredible," Jones aid.
School counselors, principals and the Bright Futures advisory board worked together to identify families for the Winter Giveaway, Jones said. All of the siblings in a family will be included in a giveaway, even if they are too young to attend school, she said.
School organizations from the middle and high schools, such as the high school soccer team, bilingual customer service class, National Honor Society and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, are volunteering to help organize the donated items.
Volunteers will also help students pick out their own coats so that they have a choice of what they would like to wear, Jones said. A number of people who volunteered last year have requested to come back and help this year, she said.
"It was such a neat experience and moving to be able to actually help a child try on their shoes and see how excited they are to get their new shoes and socks, and how gracious the kids are and families are to be able to have an option to choose their coat, that's always surprising to them that they get a choice," Jones said.
Having students come pick up the coats and shoes in person is a great chance to get to know their families, and to let families get a glimpse of the additional services and supports that are available, Davis said.
"We love having them come here to get their things so we can connect with their families and love on the families," Jones said.
New and gently used coats of all sizes are still needed. Businesses such as Arvest, Occasions Gifts and Snappy Dry Cleaners have set up Bright Futures donation barrels to collect coats. Snappy Dry Cleaners is cleaning all of the used coats for free, Jones said.
Bright Futures is an initiative within the school district that brings school, community and business resources together to meet student's basic needs. More information about the organization is available on the Bright Futures page of the district website, www.siloamschools.com.
General News on 12/06/2017