Kellogg woman collecting clothes for upcoming donation drive

KELLOGG —  Christen Breckenridge is making a difference, one trash bag at a time. The Kellogg woman is on a mission to make sure local students are geared up for the first day of school.

She’s been collecting used clothing this summer to donate to children in need. Breckenridge, whose parents are divorced, said she’s known hard times herself, and she just wants to do what she can to help others.

“I’ve just always wanted to help people,” Breckenridge said. “When people are struggling we just need to reach out and throw them a lifeline, even if it’s a pair of pants or a T-shirt.”

Together with Robyn Taylor, a lifelong advocate for Jasper County’s neediest residents, Breckenridge has been working to a host a second clothing drive in Newton, tentatively scheduled for August. She’s hoping to hold the giveaway before school starts in the fall to make sure local children have the clothing they need.

Breckenridge created a Facebook page — Jasper County, Iowa Resources Connection —  that she hopes will make it easier for residents to network with one another and find the assistance they need. .

“There’s a lot of people in need, and a lot of people don’t want to recognize that need,” Breckenridge said. “This shows the community there’s a need for help out there.”

The two women hosted their first clothing drive earlier this year, in a partnership with Aurora Heights Elementary.  Volunteers from the school’s PTA, along with teachers and Principal Jim Gilbert, helped them set up tables in the school’s lunchroom during an after-school event. More than 165 donated bags of clothing filled the tables. Breckenridge said the response from parents was overwhelming.

Breckenridge and Taylor took the remainder of the clothes to Newton’s VFW to hold a second donation event. By the time they opened the door to local residents, a line of more than 50 people had formed outside.

Despite the overwhelming response to the clothing giveaway, Breckenridge said she’s not surprised. She knows there’s a tremendous need in Jasper County. She’s frustrated at what she sees as many residents not willing to acknowledge a problem. By her estimation, there are more than 350 homeless residents in the county, most of whom are “couchsurfing,” sleeping on the couches of friends and family members.

“They think poverty is a disease, and they don’t want to get too close to anyone,” Breckenridge said. “There’s a major problem, major.”

For Taylor, it’s simple math — wages aren’t high enough in Jasper County for many residents to make ends meet. A recent study commissioned by United Way of Iowa backs up Taylor’s claim — one out of every three households in Jasper County is struggling to make ends meet.

“You cannot work someplace for $8 an hour and make it. It’s not going to happen,” Taylor said. “That’s the majority of jobs that we have here really.”

The biggest issue facing the fledgling organization is finding enough volunteers to help set up at the clothing giveaways, but Taylor said she’s hoping some new volunteers will come forward before the next event.

“A lot of people have contacted me and said they wanted to help, so I’m excited to get more people on board and helping,” Taylor said. “We could use the volunteers, just to help unload and sort the clothes and get them on the tables, that’s crunch time for us.”

Contact David Dolmage at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or ddolmage@newtondailynews.com