Winter Clothing Drive Underway in Bellevue
Donations will be used to buy warm clothes for students at Bellevue Elementary
When Tara Bell heard about kids at Bellevue Elementary School not having proper winter clothing, she decided to tackle the problem head-on and has been organizing a clothing drive through her nonprofit, the Thrival Foundation.
This is the third year Bell has been organizing funds to purchase snow pants, boots, gloves and winter clothing for kids in need.
“I know it’s a bigger problem valleywide, so I am starting here and who knows where this will go,” she said. “No kid should go without proper winter clothes, and unfortunately, even here in our beautiful little valley, there are too many kids not properly dressed.”
Bell’s Thrival Foundation focuses on education and teaching self-reliant skills to women and children. Bell said she wants to help people know how to handle a variety of situations, including inclement weather, wildlife encounters and backcountry injuries.
The winter clothing drive specifically collects funds that Bell uses to buy items kids need. She coordinates with staff at Bellevue Elementary who provide lists of sizes and types of clothing that are lacking. In the first year Bell asked for clothing, she received a lot of coats or snow pants with holes—or boots that didn’t have enough padding or were too worn out—so she decided to switch to raising funds for buying the items herself so she controls quality.
“The school also needs to have a stack of clothes on hand such as pants, leggings, T-shirts or underwear when kids have accidents and have no clothes to change into,” she said.
While she is currently concentrating on Bellevue, she said that if parents want to help out at other schools in the valley, she is more than willing.
"No kid should go without proper winter clothes."
Tara Bell
Thrival Foundation founder
Bell said she heard about one diabetic student who needs Gatorade Zero packets every day to keep his blood sugar down. Twenty packets cost $21 on Amazon, so Bell said she added his cause to her wish list and has already raised more than $150.
“His family cannot afford to purchase the packets, and hopefully we can raise enough to get him a year’s supply,” she said.
Aside from the winter clothing drive, Bell also wants to teach women and kids how to listen to their intuition and be able to get out of a situation that could be potentially dangerous. She received a $5,000 grant from the Wood River Women’s Foundation earlier this year to teach self-defense classes. Bell said a surgery set her back a few months, but she plans to start the classes in December.
Those interested in donating can visit thethrivalfoundation.org or mail a check to The Thrival Foundation at 604 N. Fourth Ave. in Bellevue. Bell asked donors to write a note specifying where funds should be directed, either to the winter clothing drive or Gatorade.
Original Article By: Raiza Giorgi