CONWAY — Shikyra Harris, 12, waited
patiently with the other Faulkner County
students at The Salvation Army office in
Conway to ride the school bus to Target
for back-to-school shopping.
“It feels good because I’m getting new
clothes,” Shikyra said. “I’m growing up,
and I have to wear Mom’s clothes.” Twenty students each received an $80
Target gift card Monday for a back-to
school shopping spree in the third year of
the nationwide partnership.
“I feel that it’s aiding a child to be able to have new shoes and clothes to go in with, and it’s aiding their self-esteem,” Conway Corps officer Lt. Jamie Clay said.
“They go in, and they feel like they’re like everybody else.” The students were chosen by The Salvation Army primarily based on income level and “potential other needs in the home,” Clay said.
Before leaving the office, each volunteer was matched with a child.
“I feel like this is a dream,” said Cherish Harris, 8, of Conway. Her goal was to get a lot of Hello Kitty clothes.
Steven Passmore, 10, was a little more pragmatic.
“I think it’s going to be fun because I don’t have to be stuck up in the house,” he said.
“What little girl doesn’t want a pair of sparkly jeans, and what little boy doesn’t want the latest superhero shirt?” Clay said.
By helping provide back-to-school clothes for the children, it is helping the parents, Clay said.
“I know what it’s like - the stress of the parents,” Clay said, getting teary-eyed. “If we can bridge that gap a little to take the stress off them, that makes all the difference.”
Holly Hernandez, 30, of Conway had signed up her four children, ages 9, 8, 6 and 4. The older three had been to The Salvation Army summer camp this year, and Clay told her about the back-to-school shopping event.
Hernandez said it would help her family’s tight budget.
“I always have a hard time every year at the beginning of the school year,” she said.
Clay said that Hernandez and her husband have jobs and work hard.
“They’re trying to do everything right,” Clay said. “I will jump through every hoop I can to help a family like that.”
Tomeka Brown of Conway said a co-worker at the Conway Human Development Center told her about the program.
Brown applied for her two children, Jaelan Watkins, 10, and Jonathan Watkins, 13.
“This is going to help a lot. Any little thing counts,” Brown said.
Jazmyne Corley, 12, did a little pre-shopping at Target on Sunday to scope out the clothes she liked.
Shopping primarily from the sales racks, she bought several shirts, a pair of shoes and two scarves.
Jazmyne’s friend Heaven Harris, 11, was participating, too. She stopped in an aisle to show Jazmyne a shirt andjeans she’d picked out.
The students were each given a small bag of snacks from Target when they went through the checkout line.
“Ooh, I got some cute stuff,” Heaven said to Jazmyne.
“Look at my binder; look at my binder!” Heaven said, showing it to a Target employee she knew. “I’m ready for school.”
On the bus ride back to The Salvation Army office, Jazmyne’s sister, Ashuni Corley, 7, and Heaven’s sister, Cherish, pulled shirt after shirt from their reusable Target bags and talked about how cute the clothes were.
“I do not understand girls,” said Steven Passmore, who was sitting on the seat across from them. “They’re all about cute clothes and shoes.”
In a minute, without a word, he pulled a Superman T-shirt out of his bag and held it up, and then pointed out the new superhero hat he was wearing.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.
River Valley Ozark, Pages 55 on 07/26/2012