Northern Home exceeds school uniform goal, reaches for more

The Northern Home for Children in Roxborough is holding its third annual ‘100 School Uniforms in 100 hours’ drive this week. But why stop at 100?

Within the first two days, the social service provider had raised enough money to purchase more than 150 school uniforms for students in public schools throughout the Delaware Valley, and they were itching for more.

“We were floored because it was such a short period of time; it wasn’t anywhere near the 100 hours yet,” said Mary Fran Riffel, Northern Home’s Marketing Manager. “We work with over 3,000 kids, so 100 seemed like a manageable goal, but if we can help more kids, we’re going to.”

On Tuesday, the organization increased its goal to 200 uniforms by Saturday in order to answer a growing need close to home. Riffel said many of the kids that Northern Home works with show up to school with the wrong uniform or with no uniform at all.

“The uniforms are a great thing because they help with violence and social issues but some kids just don’t have the luxury of affording them,” Riffel said.

She adds that the variations of uniforms between schools can be hard for families to keep up with, as is the pace of children outgrowing their designated khakis and polo shirts.  

“We want to get them prepared for the first day of school so they can start confident and not have to worry about a little thing like that,” Riffel added.

The 157-year-old organization provides community-based services for at-risk children, youth and their families in behavioral health, child welfare and preventative programs. 

To donate to the uniform drive, go to Northern Home for Children’s website by Saturday.