As winter approached, the students on the Felicity Franklin Middle School YFJ team became very concerned when they saw young children in their community outside without adequate cold-weather clothing.  They observed many instances of students, from elementary to high school, going to and from school without coats, hats, and other appropriate clothing pieces to keep them warm in freezing temperatures.  This YFJ team was concerned for these students for a of couple reasons.  Not wearing the proper clothing can lead to a person becoming ill more easily.  In addition, if students become ill because of a lack of warm clothes, then they would have to stay home and consequently, miss out on their education.  After a brief survey to find the area with the highest need, the team decided to take action to help properly clothe students in 1^st through 4^th grades.

The students consulted with the elementary school principal to determine how many coats would be needed.  They also worked with the Felicity Mayor’s office to find statistics on the number of young people in the town.  In order to get coats for the children who needed them most, the team reached out to local businesses and residents for donations.  Armed with the figures of how many they would need, the students started to implement their plan.  They posted flyers to raise awareness of this issue.  They solicited the support of area businesses to help in the project.  The team placed barrels outside of local stores for donations and spread the word about their project throughout their community. 

This project helped to raise awareness of the need for children’s winter clothing in their town.  More students are able to come to school properly dressed for the weather.  With the success of the project this past winter, the team hopes to extend it to neighboring areas with the same problem.