Serving Kids Program Receives $1,000 to Distribute Clothing to Underprivileged Children

denver give away

Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric (www.ApplewoodFixIt.com) gave $1,000 to Serving Kids, as one of the "Caring Community Giveaway" December winners. According to Serving Kids, a lack of clothing that allows students to fit in at school contributes to truancies and poor academic performance. School counselors have noticed that students' grades improve and absences decrease after receiving the clothes Serving Kids provides.

"Students deal with a lot of peer pressure," said Nancy Hoffstead, founder of Serving Kids. "When they get teased because of what they're wearing and feel embarrassed at school, they simply won't go."

"As a business that values professionalism and expects the highest level of performance from our employees, Applewood has a social responsibility to help kids succeed in the classroom and reach their full potential," said John Ward, president of Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric.

There are many clothing drives in the Denver area, but Serving Kids is unique by working behind the scenes and delivering the clothing to the schools where children can easily get them. The program was started in 1996 to give clothing to the neediest children in Jefferson County School District when faculty noticed that students either lacked or were wearing inappropriate clothing to school.

"The problem grows during the winter months when economically disadvantaged children often go to school without warm coats and clothes. This year requests have grown, so the Applewood grant is just wonderful. For example, $1,000 transcends into 100 pairs of shoes or untold numbers of jeans, shirts, and underclothes." Hoffstead continued.

Last year, Serving Kids was able to fill 1,027 orders in 104 different Jefferson County schools. The program serves students in kindergarten through the 12th grade, but the majority of orders come from the elementary school level. Donations can be made at the Serving Kids Web site, www.jeffersonfoundation.org.

Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric has served the Denver/Boulder Metro area for more than 36 years and is proud to have been named the 2009 winner of the Better Business Bureau's Torch Award for Marketplace Trust in the Large Business category. The company was also recently rated eighth in the nation's top 10 service companies by its customers. They are honored to have achieved the Nexstar Network Select Service Designation and to have been named 2007 City of Golden Rotary Ethics in Business Award winner.