COAL TOWNSHIP -- Many students in our area wear school uniforms or have a strict dress code. The Shamokin Area School District has a program to make the clothing for its students affordable.
When it comes to clothing choices at the Shamokin Area School District, it's pretty standard. The dress code calls for a basic colored polo shirt and pants. But for some families that's easier said than done.
"Sometimes it's not always affordable, so then we're trying to make it so kids have a place to go if they can't afford," Carly Lubeskie said.
That's why Shamokin Junior-Senior High School has a Clothing Closet. Students can pick out new or gently used clothing to wear to school.
The main point of the Clothing Closet is to ease families' minds. Students don't have to worry about following the dress code, they can focus on school.
"The kids have to have a certain type of clothing, so by providing clothing for the children, it frees up the family resources for other basic needs," Pastor Karen Fisher said.
Karen Fisher and Zachary Hopple are pastors at Methodist churches in the Shamokin area. They wanted to do something for the community, so the churches came together and gathered clothes for the school's clothing closet.
"We just reached out to our members to see who could donate, what they could donate. They brought whatever they could and we collected it," Pastor Zachary Hopple said.
The church communities brought about 300 pieces of clothing. Most of it is brand new.
"It's a lot of clothes and it means a lot to us to have someone who donates that much to us," Samantha Stancavage said.
"It's going to help beyond belief. It's super amazing just to know that someone thought enough of us to give us so much," Evelyn Murphy said.
Teachers say this donation will go a long way for children in the Shamokin Area School District.