Group adds more school districts to clothing voucher program
Sep. 2—A tradition started in the 1950s by an Armco Steel Corp. and bank executive continues today and is extending its reach into more school districts.
Calvin W. Verity, former general manager of Armco and president of First National Bank and later chairman of the bank's board, met with other community leaders to discuss how to serve underprivileged students.
They took steps to ensure "kids could attend school with dignity," Verity said at the time.
That idea provided the birth for the Middletown Area Neediest Youth (MANY) program that provides funds so children can purchase school clothes, said Pat Schaefer, a longtime MANY board present and current board member.
The program serves students who attend Middletown, Marshall, Edgewood, Monroe, Middletown Christian, John XXIII Elementary, Fenwick, Summit Academy, Madison, Franklin, and from those districts who attend Butler Tech, she said.
Here's how the program works. When a teacher believes one of their students could use financial assistance to purchase clothes, shoes or coats, they contact the student's parents to see if they're interested in participating in the MANY program.
If so, the school gives the parent a $100 Kohl's voucher to purchase the designated items. Then Kohl's sends MANY the bill and the department store is reimbursed. Only clothes are permitted to be purchased with the vouchers, Schaefer said.
Each school is allotted a certain amount of $100 vouchers, said Schaefer, who added the student's name isn't attached to any of the documents.
MANY provided $1,402 for clothes that first year in the 1950s. Last year, that number jumped to $69,000, said Schaefer, who added MANY serves between 500-700 kids a year.
Schaefer said the all-volunteer group operates with no overhead. When it's time to mail out solicitation letters to possible donors, the volunteers purchase the paper and envelopes and pay for the postage, she said.
MANY is funded through private donations and local foundations, Schaefer said.
Several years ago, the MANY volunteers accompanied the students on their shopping sprees. Schaefer remembers one time she was shopping with a little boy who needed school shoes. She asked him to sit on a bench in the shoe department, try them on and walk down the aisle to make sure they fit.
"No," he told Schaefer. "I want to show these to my mom. She's never seen pretty shoes like this before."
"Those stories make it all worth it," said Schaefer, 90.
What would Verity think today?
"He'd be proud as anything," she said. "That people still care that much about children."
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MANY OFFICERS
President: Debbie Swope
Vice president: Patty Gage
Treasurer: Patty Hackett
Secretary: Deb Hazelbaker
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