For families on a shoestring budget, help is available again this summer to purchase "back-to-school" clothes and shoes. For the second year in a row, a partnership between United Way, Logan County Department of Job & Family Services, and Warm Clothes for Kids will ensure that up to 1,800 Logan County children are outfitted with the attire they need for the upcoming school year.
Warm Clothes for Kids, a United Way Funded Agency, will be providing a shoe voucher of $45 to each eligible child to supplement the $175 clothing voucher given by Job & Family Services.
Logan County families at or below 200 percent of the poverty level ($48,500/year for a family of four) with children in grades K-12 attending school outside the home are eligible.
Applications for this assistance MUST be completed and received by DJFS between June 27 and July 15 to qualify. They are available by clicking here or in person at United Way, Discovery Center, Logan County DJFS, Logan County Children's Services, Logan County Family & Children First Council, Logan County Health District, Logan County Neighborhood Outreach Centers, the Bellefontaine and Degraff branches of the Logan County Library, Lutheran Community Services Thrift Store, Our Daily Bread, and Union Station.
Approved vouchers would be accepted by the following retailers only: Goody's JC Penny, Rue 21, Shoe Sensation, and Walmart stores in Bellefontaine and only between August 12 through 28.
"This is a win-win for everyone, especially the children," said Debbie Ellis, a volunteer with Warm Clothes for Kids. "Our goal is to reach as many children as possible. Partnering with the Department of Job & Family Services is a plus."
Warm Clothes for Kids, an entirely volunteer run organization, has traditionally provided new clothes to children in grades K-8 each fall as the weather turns colder, usually reaching 500 kids each year with their $40,000 United Way allocation accounting for approximately 80 percent of their funding. Last summer, when the Department of Job & Family Services provided over $217,000 in vouchers for back-to-school clothes, Warm Clothes for Kids shifted focus to avoid duplication, partnering with the government agency to provide the shoe vouchers for eligible families instead. They doubled the number of children served by your United Way gift. The partnership continues this year. Warm Clothes for Kids may resume its normal operations in 2017 depending upon the availability of federal funding for DJFS to provide school clothes vouchers.
DOWNLOAD A SCHOOL CLOTHES AND SHOES VOUCHER APPLICATION HERE.
CAPTION: Jason Hower of Shoe Sensation in Bellefontaine with a pair of children the store served through the Warm Clothes for Kids / Logan County Department of Job and Family Services partnership last year.