Hundreds of local children will head back to school with new clothes and renewed confidence after the Alma Randolph Charitable Foundation’s 33rd annual Back-to-School Shopping Trip on Tuesday.
The foundation provided 250 pre-approved children with $100 vouchers to purchase back-to-school clothing and essentials at Burlington, Ross, and Bealls. Founder Alma Randolph Crump said the annual event was inspired by her own childhood experiences growing up in poverty.
“I remember growing up in Ohio County and dreading the first day of school because you can identify the haves from the have-nots more than any other time in the year,” Randolph Crump said. “I felt less than the other children, and that was very embarrassing to me.”
Those experiences led her to establish the Alma Randolph Charitable Foundation in 1993.
Randolph Crump said the organization’s first shopping trip served about 160 children with less than $12,000 in funding. More than three decades later, the annual event continues to help local families prepare for a new school year.
Before families began shopping, Pastor Rhonda Pearson, chair of the foundation’s back-to-school initiative, welcomed participants and thanked the William and Marilyn Young Foundation for its continued support of the annual event.
Randolph Crump said the shopping trip is about more than providing new clothes.
“All of these children are going to be spared those embarrassing moments that I experienced when I was growing up,” she said. “Self-image and confidence are really one of those make-it-or-break-it things.”
Randolph Crump said she hopes families facing financial hardships remember that difficult circumstances are temporary.
“Do not judge your future for a temporary situation that you’re in now, because there’s always hope that there will be a brighter day,” she said.
By Morgan Urbanski The Owensboro Times