Warm Hearts, Warm Kids Provides Coats and Boots for Struggling Royal Oak Families

Royal Oak Youth Assistance (ROYA) helped 37 families with the cost of keeping kids warm last Saturday by providing warm gear to local kids. The non-profit, partnering with The Jordan and Ashley Siegel Scholarship Fund and Meijer, took 40 children on a shopping spree for coats, boots, snow-pants, and pajamas. Warm Hearts, Warm Kids took place on Saturday, November 15 at the Royal Oak Meijer.

“I have been hearing from some of my client families that they were storing cold-weather clothing in their basement at the time of the August floods,” said ROYA Caseworker Nancy Minckler. “Parents were struggling to replace coats, boots and snow-pants (necessary at the elementary schools for recess on frigid days) in advance of the cold weather for multiple children. They are also turning down the furnace at night to limit high utility bills and needed warm pajamas for their kids.”

ROYA approached Meijer and The Siegel Fund and Warm Hearts, Warm Kids took shape. Forty low-income families were identified by school personnel. A budget of $120 per family was set. Meijer contributed 5 gift cards and The Siegel Fund provided the rest.

Volunteers were recruited from ROYA to shop with the oldest child in each of the families for themselves and their siblings. Because ROYA is a non-profit organization, no taxes were charged. The agency also provided a goodie bag with a hat, gloves, toothbrush and scarves.

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Families have expressed gratitude as they register.

“I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to keep my son warm this winter, “said Christina, the mother of a high-school freshman. A single, unemployed mom, she expressed relief at the timely assistance. Another mother with four children stated that the program “was an answer to my prayers”.

“We are small enough to be nimble.” said ROYA’s Chairperson, Shelly Kemp, “Our goal is that these forty families can keep their children warm all winter.”

She said that Royal Oak Youth Assistance is a prevention agency which offers camp and activity scholarships, family education programs, a mentoring program, a yearly youth recognition event, and free family counseling.

For more information, call (248) 546-8282 or visit www.royaloakyouthassistance.com. Royal oak Youth Assistance is also on Facebook.

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Photo submitted