Students ask others to "give a shirt" about homeless kids | Community Spirit

SALEM, Ore. - This past November, West Salem High School senior Whitney Ferrin heard that more than 900 homeless youth irregularly attend school in the Salem-Keizer area. These attendance issues are sometimes associated with self-esteem problems related to poor hygiene and unclean or tattered clothes.

After hearing that shocking statistic from the Salem-Keizer school district, she was inspired to help. She started a program - "I Give A Shirt" - that would provide new clothes to participating homeless children. Proceeds from the sale of T-shirts saying "Give A Shirt" help fund these shopping trips as well as provide medical care to kids in need of a helping hand.

The organizers of "I Give A Shirt" work with a source in the Salem-Keizer School District, who provides information regarding which students are homeless and most in need of the group's assistance. Administrators with the school district have found that most homeless students would prefer to skip school entirely instead of facing what they say is humiliating harassment inflicted by fellow students because of their unclean clothes or poor hygiene. Unfortunately, the bottom line for these homeless students is that, without regular attendance, they simply will have a much harder time passing classes.

Luckily, business is booming for this little non-profit that could. Since December, they have raised a total of $5,000, with about 500 T-shirts sold by tabling during assemblies and lunch periods at West Salem High and through online sales and donations. By the end of 2010, the students behind "I Give A Shirt" hope to be selling shirts in every Salem-Keizer middle and high school as well as other school districts across the state, including the Portland area.

Recently, Salem-area clothing stores hosted Whitney and her fellow "I Give A Shirt" organizers as they took about 25 participating homeless youths shopping for some new duds. At some of these stores, the managers and employees treated the homeless kids like royalty and even provided additional discounts at the cash registers, which enabled the kids to stretch their buying dollar even further.

In addition, the youth received winter coats collected by "I Give A Shirt" organizers as well as medical check-ups offered by the Salem Free Medical Clinic.

Scott Cornthwaite, social media manager for "I Give A Shirt," acknowledged fewer students than expected showed up for the shopping trips.

"We were told that it is common for homeless students to be skeptical of new programs offered to them until they have heard the results of previous events," said Cornthwaite.

"I Give A Shirt" organizers plan on holding quarterly shopping trips with the next one planned for the spring. By holding these trips on a quarterly basis, organizers can adjust their shopping excursions to reflect the change in the seasons.

The future looks bright for this upstart non-profit as they hope to gain corporate sponsorship by the end of the year. Sponsorship would increase the amount of new clothing purchased for homeless students.

Meanwhile, "I Give A Shirt" organizers will continue to provide the "hope and dignity" - promised in the mission statement printed on the back of their shirts - to Salem-Keizer homeless students in need of just that.

• "I Give A Shirt" Web site
• Its Flickr page
• Its Twitter account