You are going to see a lot of purple moving forward at Clothes To Kids. It’s because we’re rolling out our new logo. It’s a purple coat.
Why purple? Why a coat? The story goes like this…
On a rare, cold Florida morning, Marie McClung (Co-Founder of Clothes To Kids) got a call from her sister. She had a little girl in her classroom who wouldn’t be able to go outside for gym class without a jacket. Marie ran to the store and bought a purple coat in just the right size. When she dropped off the coat Marie was touched by the deep gratitude of this little girl, who looked up at her smiling big brown eyes and offered a huge hug!
In spring 2002 Marie was telling the story of the little girl and the purple coat to Jode Eye (CTK’s other Co-Founder). It sounded all too familiar to Jode, who had many students without adequate clothing, they even lacked socks and underwear. Together, Jode and Marie were determined that every child should have a coat to wear at recess, and school clothing so that they could go to school and focus on learning. Clothes To Kids was born.
Bringing the CTK vision to Fairfield County
Clothes To Kids has come a long way since that first purple coat. Over the years multiple CTK affiliates have opened around the country, inspired by the wonderful work being done by the founders. Each one dedicated to bringing happiness and improved self esteem, and of course quality school clothing, to low income and in crisis school-age children in their own local communities.
As you may already know, Clothes To Kids of Fairfield County is a proud affiliate! In fall 2015, Executive Director Elaine Rubinson began mobilizing volunteers and we welcomed our first shoppers to the CTK of Fairfield County store in October 2016.
We are excited to share this story about the purple coat and why its meaning is a symbol of our mission, along with our tagline, Clothe a Kid, Change a Life.