CLASSROOM CHAMPIONS: N. Charleston parent, school nurse start clothing drive

CLASSROOM CHAMPIONS: N. Charleston parent, school nurse start clothing drive

A clothing drive at a North Charleston school is designed to supply clothes students can change into in cases of emergencies.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – A clothing drive at a North Charleston school is designed to supply clothes students can change into in cases of emergencies. Alicia Rhoades is a school nurse at Pinehurst Elementary School and Kayla Port is a parent advocate who offers services like teaching literacy classes to parents so they can read and connect with their kids.

Filling a Need

Port says when parents connect with their kids through reading and literacy, it even increases student test scores. Port and Rhoades say a majority of the students who attend Pinehurst are from countries outside of the United States and only speak Spanish. Port and Rhoades say they see a need in the school for clothing for low-income families.

Rhoades says elementary-aged students are prone to accidents like unexpected bloody noses, bathroom accidents, and overturned lunch trays that can mess up their clothing. She says ideally, the students are sent to the nurse’s office and provided with a quick change of clothes so they can return to class and continue learning.

Providing New Clothes

Rhoades and Port also say most families come into the country with very little personal belongings and have seen kids come to school with the same clothing. “Lots of children that are coming from different countries across the border recently and they’re coming with nothing,” Rhoades says. “Many of them are coming with maybe one maybe two, three pairs of clothing and that’s it.”

For Rhoades’ Donors Choose project, she’s asking for clothing items like shorts, pants, socks, and shirts. They are pushing for the drive to help students in need. Rhoades says Donors Choose has allowed them to give students new clothes which is heartwarming, because every child deserves new clothes, and it makes a big difference in the way it makes them feel.

How to Help

If you’d like to help Pinehurst Elementary School provide clothing for their students, you can click here to donate and become a Classroom Champion. All donations are tax-deductible. Donors Choose collects your money, then buys the items and sends them to the teacher. This ensures that your donation is used for our area teachers.