LISD PTA Clothes Closet Our Mission: To provide gently-used school clothes and outerwear, new socks and new underwear to any LISD students who need them.

Please use this checklist to get organized for the school year ahead. If your school does not have a Clothes Closet Chair, please delegate these items to the Volunteer Coordinator, Communications Chair, Vice President, President, other committee member or volunteer, as necessary. Most importantly, the volunteer dates for your school need to get on your school and PTA calendars, sign-ups for those dates need to be created, and volunteers need to be recruited. SHARE this document with your school PTA Board to get everyone on the same page: 7 Steps to Success WEBSITE/SOCIAL MEDIA Website: LISDPTAClothesCloset.com Twitter: @LISDPTACC Facebook: Leander ISD PTA Clothes Closet Bookmark the Clothes Closet web page on your computer and mobile devices. This site has links to all schedules, current needs, and other important information. CONTACT INFORMATION Please review and edit the Google Spreadsheet to make sure that your school's contact information is correct on all sheets (Clothes Closet Chair sheet, School Sheet, and sheets for specific board positions). VOLUNTEER DATES  Please encourage your PTA Board to treat these days the same as any other school activity.  Click here for the Volunteer Schedule.  SHARE your school’s 4 dates with your PTA officers.  ADD your school’s 4 dates to PTA and school calendars.  WORK with your Volunteer Coordinator to create online sign-ups for all 4 dates. (Volunteers should arrive at 9:45 am and stay until 12:15 pm.)  RECRUIT at least 2 volunteers (with help from the Volunteer Coordinator) for each date.  ATTEND your school’s 4 assigned days, if possible.  REMIND your volunteers that we cannot open without enough volunteers. We hate to turn families away.  EMAIL the lead in charge (her name will be in our reminder email to you) a few days before your volunteer date to let her know how many volunteers are coming. The notice allows us to try and recruit help if we will not have enough volunteers.  ATTEND at least one of the Workdays during the school year. On Workdays there are no shoppers, and we can focus on getting organized. We have 4 Workdays throughout the school year.  Don’t forget us over the summer! Please plan on attending at least 1 Summer Workday. o Backpack Attack Day is a day where all families on free/reduced lunch are invited to shop with us. It is usually the first Saturday of August. Adult volunteers only, please. o We have 1 or 2 Workdays in August to clean up after Backpack Attack.

PUBLICITY TO SHOPPERS  Our goal is to get more families to visit us to supplement their child’s wardrobe.  Any LISD family can shop with us. There are no income requirements.  Please DISTRIBUTE flyers in English and Spanish in Wednesday folders, school and PTA newsletters, Facebook pages, e-flyers, etc.  WORK with your Communications Chair, if you have one, to send out information. o Click here for the Flyer, English first. o Click here for the Flyer, Spanish first. o Paper flyers are best, as many families that shop with us do not have internet access. o Click here to see how to submit an eflyer to Peachjar to go out to your school (best for volunteer and donation flyers). o Optional: Set up a table at an Open House, PTA event, or any large school event to publicize the purpose of the Clothes Closet. o Optional: Work with your school nurse and counselor and communicate with him/her when you get flyers out. Some nurses or counselors might be willing to set up a table at Open Houses with the yellow vouchers for families that intend to shop during the year. DONATIONS  PLACE a donation bin in a prominent location in your school, clearly marked “LISD PTA Clothes Closet.”  PRINT the “BUTTONS & STOP” list and tape it to the bin. Click here to view the document.  SORT through the bin donations and only bring items on the “BUTTONS” list. o You do not need to wash these items. o Please have your items bagged in a durable trash bag. o Please donate anything that is on the “STOP” list elsewhere.  If the Clothes Closet is open, please bring your items inside. If not, please use the large bin located in the parking lot.  If you have a lot of donations, the best way to deliver them is when we are open, as our exterior bin gets full. If it doesn’t open, it is full. Anything left outside of the bin, or on the ramp is disposed of by LISD maintenance crews.  We close our donation bin the last day we are open in May. It will remain closed through late August. Please relay this information to your school.  Optional: Publicize the need for clothing donations using the “BUTTONS & STOP” list. Use your school and PTA newsletters, Facebook pages, eflyers, paper flyers, etc. Work with your Communications Chair if you have one. LOST & FOUND  Check with school staff to see when Lost & Found needs to be cleaned out. Usually, this is before Christmas Break, and once or twice during the spring semester.  If items have students’ names on them, attempt to return them.  Only bring items in great condition.  We do not accept water bottles, lunch boxes, or backpacks.  Wash any nice outerwear and bring it to the CC. Some schools have washers/dryers that you can ask to use.  The last day we will accept donations is May 8, 2018. After this date, please take any remaining Lost & Found to another charity.

SCHOOL-WIDE NEW SOCK/UNDERWEAR DRIVES  These are optional, but highly encouraged! We only distribute new socks and new underwear, so we rely on school drives to provide these for all of our students.  Check with your principal and PTA to request permission to do a NEW sock and NEW underwear drive.  Early fall and early spring might be the best times to do a drive, to avoid conflicting with other events.  We update our website regularly with our most pressing clothing needs.  Sample Flyer: Sock & Underwear Drive, Sample Flyer: Wimpy Kid Theme FUNDRAISER TO PURCHASE SOCKS/UNDERWEAR  If you do a fundraiser to purchase socks and underwear, it must be approved by your school’s PTA board and LISD.  Publicize the drive or fundraiser. Use your school newsletter, PTA newsletter, Facebook pages, eflyers, paper flyers, etc. Work with your Communications Chair, if you have one.  We have an Amazon Wish List. Socks and underwear can be purchased through Amazon.com.  You can do an online drive as well (great for middle schools and high schools) by using our Amazon wish list.  Please note: We cannot receive any mail or packages at our building. We send all packages to the LISD administration building. Notes Volunteer’s children that are not in school are welcome on Tuesdays and Saturdays. We have a small kids’ area with some toys and a TV in the Girls’ room. High School teens wanting to earn service hours are welcome to help on Saturdays in the sorting area only (to respect our shoppers’ privacy). Location The PTA Clothes Closet is located in a portable building near 324 S. West Drive in Leander, TX 78641 across from the LISD Technology Center, just north of Leander Middle School, and South of LEO. For directions to the Clothes Closet, click here. There is no restroom on site; however, there are restrooms in the LISD offices and Technology building (open on school days).

We thank you for the valuable gift of your time!

Volunteering is always in style!

The Clothes Closet Team: Mollie Cherry: [email protected] Carol Mitchell: [email protected] Poppy Jones: [email protected] Jessica Recupito: [email protected] Yana Richter: [email protected]