Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – July 16, 2024 – There are 3,874 children in the foster care system in Arkansas, according to humanservices.arkansas.gov. A large percentage of those are school-aged children.
Sandy Connor, Sales Manager at Dillard’s in Jonesboro, has a soft spot in her heart for these children and she wanted to create an event to help Craighead County foster kids get a new outfit for back to school.
You’ve probably seen a Giving Tree at Christmas, where the gender and age of a child and the kinds of presents they would like are on an ornament and placed on a Christmas tree. The Dillard’s event is similar, but they’ll have a big chalkboard on display instead of a tree.
Dillard’s Store Manager Will Via is very involved and supportive of the effort, and so are a number of the over 100 store employees. “Our associates are planning to ‘adopt’ kids,” he said. “And any business can ‘adopt’ kids”.
According to Connor, “Our average outfit is around $50.” An outfit includes underwear, socks, pants and a shirt. If shoes are included, the amount is more like $75. Of course, smaller children outfits will cost less while teenagers clothes will be a little more. The age range for wishlists is from 6 months to 19 years old.
While store associates have already begun mentioning the event to customers and friends, “Style a Student” begins in earnest on July 27th, goes through the tax-free weekend and wraps up on August 11th, just in time for the new school year.
Some businesses and events do a great job of gathering school supplies for students, but this event is focused on clothes.
Connor says “It’s for their confidence. We want them to be just as comfortable as everybody else when they start the first day of school.”