Denver Organization Changing Lives While Clothing Children

DENVER (CBS4) - Tucked away in a corner in south Denver is a nonprofit organization that is literally putting clothes on kids' backs.

Clothes to Kids of Denver provides thousands of Denver-area children with clothes -- and it never charges a cent.

Its motto: "Clothe a child, change a life."

The organization has certainly helped Heather Rivera, a single mother of two.

At a recent visit, Rivera and her two children picked up the necessities.

For her daughter, Star, and son, Guess, it is simply a trip to the store.

"The kids, they don't think much of it. I try not to make a big deal because it is a low-income situation," Rivera says.

The organization notes the enormous number of kids who need assistance. More than 79,000 children attending Denver schools live at or below the poverty level, it says.

"Many of the kids are so excited to have new clothes that they'll wear them out of the store. They won't even change into their old clothes," Katie Jadwin of Clothes to Kids says. "We've had kids tell us they have never been shopping before."

Clothes to Kids is located at Colorado Boulevard and Yale Avenue. Donations are welcome and accepted Tuesdays through Fridays from 8:45 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the first Saturday of each month from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Clothes to Kids especially needs coats, shoes and new underwear, according to its website.

LINK: Clothes to Kids of Denver

To shop there, a family must qualify for free school lunches or be referred by a church or other organization.

Since 2008, Clothes to Kids have been providing families with nearly new clothes and a sense of dignity.

"For people that come for the first time and have never been here before, their heart is just so touched by the time they leave here, and they have all these wardrobes for each and every one of their children," volunteer Harris Jordan, who serves as a personal shopping assistant, says.

More 12 Days Of Christmas Stories