Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Weather Separates "Haves from "Have Nots"

It's -15 as I post this morning. Up in Laramie, WY the wind chill is -59. Over in the Midwest and East snow is measured in feet. Baby it's cold outside.

A big subject of debate in the Denver area this morning was Denver Public Schools decision to open schools. Parents did have the option to keep kids home if they wanted to. But the argument was why on earth would you want kids out in such cold weather? A fair argument.

There are essentially three groups of kids:

1. Those who understand that it gets cold in the winter in Colorado and have the appropriate clothing available when it does.
2. Kids who don't have warm-weather gear but it isn't "cool."
3. Kids who can't afford warm clothes.

When I was in college in Wisconsin, I volunteered at a local Head Start. It always broke my heart to see so many kids in the middle of winter who didn't have warm clothing. As a board member of the Jeffco Action Center I've learned first-hand about the alarming number of people who simply can't afford what most of us take for granted. In so many cases families who used to donate to the Action Center are now clients.

The "Have Nots" of society don't fit the perception many have of the poor. They're educated, have played by the rules and due to circumstances beyond their control are on the outside looking in. And baby it's cold outside in more ways than one.

So regardless of where you live, donate your dollars or your gently used warm clothing that does nothing more than hang in the closet.

Dressing warm shouldn't be for just some of us.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

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