Salvation Army takes kids shopping for clothes before school

About 100 children attended The Salvation Army’s “Back to School Shopping Spree” in Colorado Springs on Saturday morning.

This year, The Salvation Army partnered with J.C. Penney to provide each kid with a $100 gift card and a 25% discount so they could shop for clothes inside the store at The Citadel Mall.

“This is the seventh year that we’re doing this,” said Brett Harrison, the marketing director for The Salvation Army in Colorado Springs. “It’s amazing for the kids to be able to be a part of this.”

The children are part of the charity’s Colorado Springs and Fountain locations. Each child was paired with volunteers from Colorado Springs utilities.

Jessica Davis, who is the land resource manager for Colorado Springs Utilities, said a lot of planning goes into the event, but she looks forward to it every year.

“It’s one of our volunteers’ favorite projects,” Davis said. “They get to see the smiles on their faces when they get their brand new pairs of shoes and it’s just super exciting for us.”

Kids like Alanna Phairchyld said they were excited to get new clothes before going to school.

“I got two pairs of pants, overall shorts and a really nice pair of shoes,” said Phairchyld with a smile.

Harrison said every child deserves to feel confident going to school and new clothes can help with that.

“Absolutely my favorite part is watching these kids smile,” she said.