BAE donation helps clothe 1,000 children
10/04/2004
By: Jessica Fischer

Nigel House will never forget the looks on the faces of the bare-footed children as they tore open packages filled with clothes and other supplies, yanked out what may have been their first new pair of shoes and quickly laced them up.

But the heart-wrenching scene didn't take place in a remote Third World country.

It happened at New Clothes For Kids' 2004 School Time Festival in Kingsport, where Nigel, his wife and other volunteers from BAE Systems spent their Saturday morning handing out packets of brand-name clothing and backpacks filled with school supplies.

"I've never seen kids so delighted," said Nigel, BAE's vice president of operations.

That's why he and the rest of the folks at BAE Systems were more than happy to donate $10,000 toward New Clothes For Kids' next project, the 2004 Cold Weather Campaign.

Kingsport's Anissa Lyttle started the non-profit organization in September 1999 as a way to provide underprivileged children in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia with stylish new clothes in the hopes of boosting their self-esteem and helping them resist peer pressures.

Since its inception, the non-profit organization has partnered with local school systems and social service agencies to provide more than $865,000 worth of new clothes, shoes and coats to more than 8,500 area children.

Thanks to donations like the one from BAE, NCFK has managed to line up sponsors for 1,000 youngsters, including 150 in Kingsport, 150 in Hawkins County, 400 in Greeneville, 200 in Carter County and 100 in Bristol, for this year's cold weather campaign.

And these kids aren't the same ones who received packets during the back-to-school campaign earlier this year, she said, nor are they the only ones in the area in need of help, which is why NCFK is holding a yard/bake sale from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 9 at the facility's warehouse beside Dollar General on Airport Parkway in Blountville.

Anissa said she'd like to raise another $10,000 so she and her team of volunteers can provide even more children with clothes to keep them toasty warm this winter.

Because NCFK is staffed entirely by volunteers, 94 cents of every dollar donated goes to purchase clothing. And by shopping off-season and in bulk, Anissa and her team of shoppers are able to purchase $3 worth of name-brand clothing for every $1 they spend.

They'll spend about $60 on each cold weather packet, which contains two winter outfits, socks, shoes, underwear, a coat and gloves.

In addition to its cold-weather and school-time campaigns, NCFK also organizes a Spring Clothing Fling every year.

Tax-deductible donations are always welcome and may be sent to New Clothes For Kids at P.O. Box 215, Kingsport, Tenn. 37662.

For more information about how you can help, call Anissa at 292-1778 or log onto www.newclothesforkids.org.