According to NCCP (National Center for Children in Poverty) nearly 15 million children in the United States live in poverty. In this season of consumption it is hard to imagine that a child can be without the most basic of needs such as a warm coat on a cold winters day. While this column is a relationships column, I have written before and will write again about the people and organizations in our great nation that put forth the effort to extend a helping hand in what can be one of our most important relationships, that of our fellow citizen in need. Let me tell you about one company and a very special group of kids that saw a need, heard the call and jumped to action.
This past fall the children's fashion store p.s. from aeropostale started a coat drive, 1 Warm Kid, to collect coats for needy children in local communities. The company saw celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Kelly Rutherford and Rico Rodriguez stop by their stores to donate and give their support. The call went out to schools across the country to join in the effort and p.s. from aeropostale offered a bounty of prizes for the winning schools that could collect the most coats. The company offered to match the number of coats collected as well.
In every community or group there is always one person who leads the way. At East Lake Elementary School in McDonough, Georgia that person was Susan McVey. Susan’s children, Gracie and Sarah, attend East Lake Elementary and Susan is part of the PTO. She saw the advertisement from p.s. aeropostale and knew that her school had to get involved. By getting the support of the school administration, the PTO and some very aggressive parents, East Lake Elementary was able to collect 387 coats for the drive. I'm pretty sure that if you were walking by and didn't look too cold they would ask you to hand over your coat right then and there for the cause. There is nothing more convincing than a PTO mom on a mission. I've seen them in action. They work a little like The Godfather; they'll make you an offer you can't refuse! Those 387 coats put them in first place at the end of the drive. East Lake Elementary won $5000 in cash as well as free T-shirts and an ice cream party sponsored by the local Bruster’s Ice Cream. Not surprisingly, the ice cream party got the loudest round of applause and screams from the kids during the presentation. Along with all the great prizes, p.s. from aeropostale also pledged not only to match the number of coats collected, but to donate another 80,000 coats to the effort!
In these hard times and especially when most retail companies are worried about seasonal profits, it was truly inspiring to watch one corporation come together with a group of local children to try to make a difference.
I tip my hat to p.s. from aeropostale for seeing a need and getting others involved to make a difference. Congratulations to Susan McVey and everyone involved at East Lake Elementary for your great achievement! Enjoy the ice cream kids! Maybe you should have a little hot chocolate with that Bruster's Ice Cream. It’s awful cold out there!
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