The Event Will be Co-Hosted by Two Leading Nonprofits – Note in the Pocket and The Sharing Shelf – and Will be Moderated by CNN’s Erica Hill
Two leading nonprofit clothing organizations serving youth and children will co-host a national virtual forum on clothing insecurity, which will be moderated by CNN’s Erica Hill. The free event will take place at noon ET by Zoom on Tuesday, September 15, National Clothing Insecurity Awareness Day. It will be co-hosted by Note in the Pocket, serving Wake and Durham Counties, NC, and The Sharing Shelf, serving Westchester County, NY. Note in the Pocket initiated National Clothing Insecurity Awareness Day last year, and The Sharing Shelf has created a survey this year to broaden awareness. This forum adds national programming to this year’s recognition of the day.
The forum is titled “The Missing Basic Need: What Clothing Insecurity Reveals About America’s Affordability Crisis.” It will discuss the results of a national survey – the first of its kind – conducted by The Sharing Shelf of 30 organizations providing clothing in 17 states from coast to coast. The results of the survey, which explores the clothing insecurity addressed on the ground by those organizations and their response to it, will be released in the week before the forum.
Moderating the forum will be Erica Hill, Anchor and National Correspondent for CNN, whose coverage of poverty in America has previously been recognized by the Peabody Awards. The centerpiece of the forum will be a conversation with the leaders of the two organizations: Megan Steinke-Chase, Executive Director of Note in the Pocket, and Deborah Blatt, Founder and Executive Director of The Sharing Shelf. Discussion will include representatives of other organizations as well as the general public.
Clothing insecurity is a national challenge affecting an estimated 2 in 5 children in America. Clothing insecurity is a lack of sufficient, clean, seasonal, and size-appropriate apparel. It is often overlooked on the theory that as long as one has some kind of clothes, the problem does not exist, but clothing insecurity has a detrimental impact on children. It erodes their self-confidence, contributes to bullying and negatively impacts their school attendance. A child or teen does not just need something to wear. To feel good about themselves and to ensure they attend school – and stay in school – they need to have sufficient clean clothes in the right size, that are appropriate to the season, and that reflect their personality.
“Clothing insecurity is a major challenge for America’s children and their families. It needs to be better recognized. Children are missing school and missing out on important parts of childhood because they do not have clothing or a pair of shoes,” said Deborah Blatt, Founder and Executive Director of The Sharing Shelf. “The now-annual celebration of National Clothing Insecurity Awareness Day is a crucial first step. The national virtual forum on September 15, and the national survey of clothing organizations that it will discuss, will shine a much-needed broader light on the nation’s affordability crisis. We are thrilled that Erica Hill, a renowned journalist, will help us draw attention to this pressing national need.”