ChildSpree
2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
7 to 9 a.m.
For
every $100, one more child can attend ChildSpree. Donations of any amount
accepted.
Donate
by Credit Card: Call United Way (805) 541-1234
Donate by Check: Mail to United Way, P.O. Box 14309, San Luis Obispo,
CA 93406-4309
Volunteer: Call United Way (805) 541-1234 or e-mail ChildSpree@unitedwayslo.org
2008 ChildSpree Interest Sheet
ChildSpree:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ChildSpree?
ChildSpree is an annual back-to-school shopping spree for economically disadvantaged children hosted by United Way of San Luis Obispo County and Mervyns. The children participating in the shopping spree reside and attend school in SLO County and choose new school clothes, receive school supplies, and enjoy a post-spree breakfast all resulting from partnerships with community non-profit organizations, local businesses, service clubs, and caring individuals.
What does a child receive?
Each child that has been selected is escorted by a local volunteer on a shopping spree, where they are able to choose new school clothes of their choice up to $100 in value. All items for sale at Mervyns are discounted 10 percent, including any sale items, which add up to a great value. In addition to new clothes, each child is given a new school backpack filled with school supplies, and can enjoy a breakfast with their chaperone and family members provided by the local Kiwanis Clubs.
How does ChildSpree work?
Children that have been selected are to arrive at Mervyns (205 Madonna Rd. in SLO) at 6:00 a.m. on the morning of the event. Parents/guardians must stay on site and wait for their children in the breakfast area. This allows for children to be reunited with their parent/guardian and frees up the volunteers to shop with another child before the store opens at 9:00 a.m. As children arrive, they are paired with waiting volunteers who will chaperone them on their shopping spree. Chaperones then escort the children through the store, picking out needed clothing items totaling approximately $100. For the safety of the children, all volunteer chaperones are fingerprinted ahead of time and Mervyns is closed to the general public during the event.
How are children nominated?
We ask the support of health and human services agencies in the county to recommend children who are most in need from among their clients. Should a family call our office to participate we will refer them to an agency in their community, and ask that the agency consider them for recommendation to the event. We do this to ensure that the family be made aware of other services that might be available to them beyond ChildSpree. Often this may be a first call for help, but there may be many other ways that the family can receive assistance. Therefore it is the agency that determines which children to recommend to participate in the event. However, due to the large number of recommendations received and limited funds and store hours, only a portion of those recommended can be selected.
What are the criteria to recommend a child for participation?
The basic criteria for a child to participate in the program are that they must be entering first grade through twelfth grade at a school in San Luis Obispo County, and be from a family with economic hardships. Children of employees of United Way of San Luis Obispo County, Mervyns, participating service agencies, and sponsors are not eligible to participate in this event.
Does every child recommended have an opportunity to participate?
Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate every request, but have been able to help a growing number of children each year. In addition, if we are unable to help a family through this event, we will continue to work with other agencies to help them receive school clothes in other ways.
How are children selected to participate?
United Way recognizes the support and effort of our agency partners in recommending these children, and that every child recommended could benefit from the experience. We try to ensure that at least one child of a nominated family from each participating agency is selected. After that, selections are made randomly from all of the participating agencies. An agency, however, may specify a prioritization for selection from the children that are recommended. We will follow this suggestion of priority when making selections. Drop ins are only allowed if space, time, and volunteers are available. We also try to accommodate new nominees and prioritize those children over ones that attended the previous year.
What if multiple siblings of the same family need help?
One of the most difficult situations we face is that we cannot accommodate every child in need. While the event has grown from 30 to over more than 175 children served annually, we still find we are unable to accommodate over half of the children recommended. This can be especially difficult when multiple children in a family are recommended, but only one is selected. We will attempt to honor the priority in which agencies nominate the children, but given the number of children recommended we cannot assure that any or all children from a family will be selected to participate.
What if the child only speaks Spanish?
Over 100 volunteers from the community help to chaperone the children during the event, many of whom speak Spanish. If a child or their parent/guardian only speaks Spanish and it is noted on the nomination form, we make every attempt to partner them with a Spanish-speaking chaperone.
If a child is selected, what do they need to do to participate?
If a child has been selected to participate from those recommended, the agency will be advised and will be asked to see that the parents/guardians complete and sign the Parental Consent Form and Photograph/Video Release Form. These forms are written in both English and Spanish. The Parental Consent Form asks for permission to have the child participate in the event and for a general idea of what clothing items the child needs. During the event the children make the choices of what clothes they would like; however, the volunteer chaperones work closely with them to ensure that the needed items (such as underwear and socks) are selected. If the parent/guardian does not wish to have their children photographed, this will be noted on their name tag the day of the event.
What if children don't have transportation to the event?
Each year that we hold ChildSpree about 10 percent of the children selected to participate do not come to the event. We have found that in most cases the reason a child is a "no-show" is that the child did not have adequate transportation to the event. Another reason is that the parents/guardians were not made aware of, or did not realize, the large number of children on the waiting list to participate. This is not only disappointing to the child who is unable to participate, but also to the volunteers at the event, and ultimately to another child who was not able to participate due to limited space. In many instances, it is those children for whom transportation is truly the issue that are most in need of services. We want them to be able to attend the event, so we rely on the agencies to ensure necessary transportation.
What happens if the child can't come the day of the event?
United Way’s ChildSpree happens only one day a year. If a child is unable to attend, unfortunately, he or she does not have an opportunity to make it up at another time.
How is ChildSpree funded?
Each year Mervyns makes a generous gift and provides staff to support this event. It is then through the generosity of other businesses, individuals and service clubs that other funds are raised and products donated. Last year more than 200 businesses, service groups and individuals helped to make ChildSpree happen through their donation of time, money and supplies. United Way of SLO County administers the event and takes no overhead fees for staff time. 100% of every donation goes toward the sponsorship of a child.
Who do I contact if I have more questions?
E-mail us at ChildSpree@unitedwayslo.org. If you need to speak to someone directly, please feel free to call United Way of San Luis Obispo County, (805) 541-1234.
