Name of Team Captain:  Chudney Vane

Team Member Names: 

Christopher Clark, Andrea Davis, Kasey Dixon, Dustin Watkins, Tiffany Weaver

Agency Assisted:  Tie & Doll, Inc.

Project’s Thematic Area:

Civic Engagement, Public Education, Poverty & the Less Fortunate

Project Location:  The uniform drive was hosted at Old Navy in East Chase Market Center; with locations within the community participating as Uniform Drop-off Locations

Date(s) of Implementation:  July 5, 2019 to August 9, 2019

Duration of Project:  Approximately 5 weeks

Who was served by the project?

The Khakis and Shirts for Education School Uniform Drive serviced the families/students of the Montgomery Public School System.

How many people benefited?

The Khakis and Shirts for Education School Uniform Drive was able to obtain 597 pieces of clothing. That was broken down to 335 bottoms and 262 tops for the families/students of the Montgomery Public School System.

Final project description:

Our Project Team combined efforts with Tie and Doll, Inc., a local not for profit charity, in order to complete the project that we have coined as Khakis and Shirts for Education Uniform Drive. Often in the Montgomery Area, there is given great deference to the plight of school supplies in Montgomery Public School system schools. This is such an important objective, due to the fact that students need the appropriate resources in order to learn. In conjunction with this, all students in Montgomery Public Schools are required to wear uniforms that abide by their school colors. It is often that many families are unable to afford the cost of these uniforms. For this reason, the Khakis and Shirts for Education Uniform Drive was created. It was our mission to provide as many uniforms to the Montgomery Public School System for the needs of its students.

What is the vision for the future of the project?

The vision of Khakis and Shirts for Education is to continue helping our community's future leaders one uniform at a time; while building upon the previous year's success. This will be done by reaching out to previous year's supporters and recruiting new donors and supporters. This will ensure project growth and future success of Khakis and Shirts for Education.

Describe exactly how your project was implemented.

The Khakis and Shirts for Education Uniform Drive project was implemented by partnering with 14 different businesses, churches, and fire stations in the Montgomery area during the months of July and August. Our partners served as collection locations for donated uniforms. We utilized radio and social media to promote the Uniform Drive. The Khakis and Shirts for Education Uniform Drive was held at Old Navy in the EastChase Plaza on July 20th. We picked this date due to it being Tax-Free Weekend and the hope that patrons would be more likely to donate when saving money. Torchbearers and Tie & Doll members were located outside of Old Navy requesting donations as patrons entered the store. All collected uniforms and school supplies were delivered to Few Elementary on Early Street for distribution. Tie & Doll, Inc. and Torchbearer members were also able to present the success of the Khakis and Shirts for Education Uniform Drive at the September 24th MPS Board Meeting. 

How many volunteer hours were devoted to this project? (Total - everyone on the team; start to finish)

Collectively, there were a total of 140 hours devoted to the community projects. Some of the efforts/ tasks includes:

• Board Meetings with Tie & Doll, Inc.
• Creation of Flyers for Donation Boxes
• Coordination with Montgomery U-Haul in box donations
• Coordination with Montgomery Fire/ Rescue for Drop Off Locations
• Coordination with the printing company for the printing of the flyers
• Purchasing of supplies for wrapping of boxes
• Securing location for Uniform Drive at Old Navy
• Social Media push to garner attendance at Old Navy Uniform Drive
• Networking with Buffalo Rock for Banner Creation
• School Uniform Drive with Old Navy
• Mid-Term Preparation
• Sorting of received donations
• Making contact with MPS for donation handoff
• Delivery of received donations
• MPS Board meeting
• Final Project Report Preparation
• PowerPoint Preparation