Charities

Make a Difference in a Child’s Life

Please join me in volunteering on Sunday, July 26 and help needy elementary school children get excited about going back to school.

The National Council of Jewish Women – St. Louis Section is sponsoring our 9th annual Back To School Store!

Many low income kids miss the first day of school because they don’t have the clothing, tennis shoes or school supplies that they need. Our goal is to make sure that every child is ready for the first day of school, and can walk through the school doors excited about learning.

When NCJW held their first Back to School Store! 9 years ago, 200 kids got a chance to to shop in our store at Central Reform Congregation in the Central West End.

This year, 950 children will receive everything that they need to be ready for school.

The building is transformed into a store with racks of new clothing arranged by size, dressing rooms and even professional shoe fitters. Working with a volunteer personal shopper, each child gets to select a new outfit, coat, shoes, socks, underwear, hat, gloves, school supplies, backpack, personal hygiene items and a book.

As you can imagine, we need hundreds of volunteers to assist us with the 950 children shopping in our store on this one day event. Volunteers are needed to work directly with the children as personal shoppers, check in registered children and volunteers as they arrive, fit shoes and coats to make sure we give out the right size, dressing room attendants, and restockers to help keep the racks full.

Male volunteers are especially needed to help the boys in the store.

To work directly with the kids, volunteers need to be 18 years old. However, teenagers can help us entertain preschool siblings, keep the racks filled and help with setup and breakdown of the store before and after the big day! In fact, this would be a great project for high school students to earn some community service hours that so many schools now require, while having fun and making a big impact on the community too.

The store is located in the Central West End, and you can sign up for either morning, early or late afternoon shifts. We also need volunteers to assist the week before and after the event during the day to help with setup and breakdown.

And we’ll happily feed you lunch if you work two shifts in a row on any day!

I’ve done a lot of volunteer work over the years, and this is definitely the most rewarding 3 hours that I’ve ever spent. You’ll leave knowing that you made an impact on the lives of children and their families.

Register as a volunteer online!

For more information, call the NCJW office at 314-993-5181.

UPDATE: As of 7/15, we need about 50 more volunteers

1st shift (8:30-12) – Restockers, Personal Shoppers and 1 Security person needed

2nd shift (11:30 – 3) – 1 Security person needed! If you are interested, contact me and I’ll squeeze in another personal shopper or restocker to attend with you.

3rd shift (2:30-6) - Restockers, Personal Shoppers, Arts & Crafts with preschoolers and 1 male for the boys changing room

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone for signing up to volunteer! With 3 days to go, we have about 500 volunteers registered. We are all set to serve the 950 kids invited to the store on Sunday!

Sponsor a Child for Back to School Store!

This year, raising the funds to pay for this amazing event has been really challenging. The majority of our funding comes from grants from private foundations, and this year the foundations just were not giving. Even though we have a major shortfall in fundraising, the show must go on. So, we are still serving every one of the 950 kids that we invited!

For $150, you can sponsor a child and help keep this program strong for the future. Every dollar counts. If $150 doesn’t fit into your budget, please donate what you can.

Here’s a breakdown of what your money can help us buy for the kids:

$150 – sponsor a child!

$50 – clothing for 1 child – jeans, long sleeve shirt, 6 socks, 6 underpants, winter coat & tennis shoes

$20 – winter coat

$10 – tennis shoes

$5 – long sleeve shirt

$1 – every little bit adds up…we’ll combine your dollar with other donations to give the kids everything they need!

You can make a secure online donation of any amount or you can contact the NCJW office to make a donation by phone or mail.

I’ve made a donation to sponsor a child.

Please join me by making a contribution too.

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