Uniforms for Kids Helps Students Focus on Hopes, Dreams for the New School Year
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July 26, 2024At the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store at Plank Road in Baton Rouge, children stepped out of the dressing rooms in their new school uniforms and twirled around for their parents. The parents’ approving smiles and the children’s sparking eyes indicated the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Baton Rouge helped them not only find the perfect fit in clothes, but new hopes and dreams as the new school year approaches.Through Uniform for Kids, SVDP is hoping to provide 16,000 new uniforms for children in need to help them walk into school with confidence and have a successful year, according to Michael Acaldo, President/CEO of SVDP.Uniforms for Kids began in 1998. The program serves children and families in East Baton Rouge Civil Parish and all the civil parishes in the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
“St. Vincent de Paul has three pillars of focus for us: Our spirituality, our friendship and service to our neighbors,” said Acaldo. “What the society calls us to do is to grow spiritually, and in doing so we have Christian friendships that position us to serve those in need through Uniforms for Kids.
“What the drive does for children in need is amazing. We’re able to impact families that are struggling to keep a roof over their heads, put food on the table, pay utility bills. The cost of those items has gone through the roof … We are well known locally for all the great efforts we do for those experiencing all this, but we do so much to help families prevent homelessness from ever happening by doing things like providing uniforms and doing those things that are necessary to help families with so many of their needs. And this is a big one.”
Top Right Photo: Tanisha Washington glances over the new uniforms worn by her children, from left, Jaceon, Liam, and Sophie. Photos by Debbie Shelley | The Catholic Commentator
Above Photo: DeShawna Vaughn gives a look of approval to her daughter, Blair, who is dressed in a new school uniform.Acaldo pointed out that children in need often show up at the beginning of the school year wearing last year’s uniforms, which are too small or torn – or the children may not be dressed in uniform at all. Because SVDP works diligently to preserve human dignity, it strives to give these children a hand up to prevent them from the embarrassment of not being properly attired, which can be a barrier for their future success.The parents express their gratitude for the help they receive, according to Cheryl Scott, supervisor of UFK.
“The parents are very appreciative of the uniforms we are giving them, and they thank us for having the program,” said Scott. “With the basic financial costs of living, especially when they have more than one child, such as a family of four, five, six children, the uniforms are helpful.”
“It took a big strain out of preparing for school for me,” said Denise Moore, a working single mother of four children: McKenzie, Chris, and Cayden, who are students at Westdale Middle School in Baton Rouge, and McKyla, a student at CJK Haynes Elementary School in Baton Rouge.
“It’s really helping a lot until we can afford to do more,” said Tanisha Washington, who is juggling work, going to school herself, and raising three children: Jaceon, Sophie, and Liam, all students at Claiborne Elementary in Baton Rouge.
For Mia Alexander, the help with assuring that her daughter, Skyler, enters school positively and does not have to worry about peer pressure is invaluable.
“She feels confident in herself knowing that she can go to school feeling nicely dressed and everything else that helps kids throughout the day,” Alexander said.
The higher summer, water, and electricity bills make it hard for DeShawna Vaughn to make sure that her daughters, DeAnna, a student at Inspire Academy, and Blair, a student at Park Forest Magnet Elementary, have clean, decent uniforms, which help them have confidence so they can settle in with their peers and focus on their schoolwork.The assistance allows Vaughn to focus on her pursuit of earning a degree in education. She has a 3.7 grade-point average in her first year of online classes from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.
“The children are our future, and we need them,” Vaughn said. “I want to make a difference in the world, and I feel like the best way for me to do this is through the kids.”
The cost for one uniform is $12, and SVDP gives two uniforms to each child. To contribute to UFK, visit svdpbr.org.
