Virginia (and most of the East Coast) woke up to a frightfully chilly morning today as the temperature has dropped to record lows recently, and Old-Man Winter is showing us what cold really feels like.
But do we really know what cold feels like? Have you ever gone outside to warm your car on your way into work without a coat on? It’s more than a little brisk. It’s enough to send you scurrying back inside to huddle with a nice cup of coffee until it’s time to leave.
Now imagine for a moment that you didn’t have the OPTION of walking outside without a coat on. That it wasn’t just a lack of time that kept you from bundling up just to start your car.
This is the problem that more than 46.5 MILLION people in America are facing this winter. And what’s worse; more than 16 Million of those people are children (US Census Bureau).
This January, Sparkles! Childcare Centers is hoping to help children in our community in need of basic winter essentials, with the launch of their Winter Warmth Children’s Clothing Drive at their Crystal City location.
Sparkles! invites you to donate new or lightly used winter clothing like coats, scarves, gloves, hats, and other essentials to their clothing drive to not only help those in need, but to teach our children the importance of helping those less fortunate than themselves. All donations made to Sparkles! will be given to Echo- Ecumenical Community Helping Others.
Echo is a community based, all-volunteer organization whose purpose is to “help people in need in our community by assisting those who suffer the effects of long-term poverty as well as people who are experiencing an emergency need”(ECHO Web page).
Take some time this January to pay it forward and help keep children warm.
