A University of Tampa rising senior, Mackenzie Parrish was a high school volunteer at Clothes to Kids. Clothes to Kids is a nonprofit organization assisting low-income and in-crisis school-age children in Pinellas County, Florida. Mackenzie Parrish was a high achieving high school student who moved on to study at the University of Tampa. Mackenzie Parrish has volunteer experience both with Clothes to Kids and the Safety Harbor Neighborhood Family Center. Of her volunteer work with Clothes to Kids, Mackenzie Parrish states, “I really enjoyed helping kids. It’s so important to invest in the future of children and provide them with a better life.” Mackenzie Parrish is an avid supporter of community volunteer work.

Clothes for Kids has distributed 80,000 wardrobes to date to children across Pinellas County, Florida. It costs $50 for Clothes to Kids to provide one wardrobe to a child. Furthermore, Clothes to Kids boasts a monthly average of 1,600 volunteer hours from adults and youth. This important nonprofit organization is well supported by the community. Clothes to Kids was founded by Jode Eye and Marie McClung, who began collecting clothing in 2002. They have a passion for helping children in need and wanted to create a positive store environment that focuses on dignity and respect for the families in need and free school clothing for the children. The first Clothes to Kids store opened in Dunedin on June 11, 2003. In December of 2009, Clothes to Kids opened a second store in St. Petersburg, making clothing more accessible to families in South County.

Clothes to Kids partners with Pinellas County Schools to recruit student volunteers through the schools’ Learning Service Hours for Bright Futures. Clothes to Kids receives a vast number of student volunteers from the school district. It was through this partnership that Mackenzie Parrish began volunteering at Clothes to Kids. Mackenzie Parrish has always had a passion for helping her community, and her high school’s community service program provided her with the tools to begin serving her community at Clothes to Kids. Mackenzie Parrish loves children and felt truly rewarded when she helped provide them with clothing to wear to school, allowing them to feel comfortable and reach their full academic potential.