For Good: Grassroots charity helps children in school

After years of watching children go to school in clothes that did not fit, shoes with holes in the soles and no sweaters on cold mornings, a group of women in Tampa decided they could help. A grassroots effort was started, and soon the Oasis Network was born, a charity that has been helping children since 2001.

Earlier this year, Oasis opened its fourth location, this one serving the rural Seffner community.

‘We partnered with the Hillsborough County school district, so all of our locations are at school district sites,’ says Ginger Bean, Executive Director for the Oasis Network. ‘We specifically partner with the school social workers who identify students in need. ‘

Once a child is identified, the social worker meets with the family, finds out what the needs are, writes down the sizes of the child, and then goes to "shop'' at one of the Oasis locations.

"We have everything laid out so that the social workers can quickly 'shop', even though everything is free,'' she says.

According to Bean, the nonprofit is privately funded and runs on a budget of approximately $100,000 a year.

"The school district provides a site for us at no charge,'' she says. "The biggest ticket item in our budget is uniform clothing, because half of the elementary schools require the students to wear uniforms.''

For those interested in helping the cause, Bean says there is plenty to do to contribute.

"The best way the community can help is to donate their gently used youth-sized clothing at one of our two collection bins,'' she says. "We have partnered with the South Tampa YMCA on Himes Avenue and the New Tampa YMCA on Compton Drive in Tampa Palms. We are always in need of youth sizes 4-16 for boys and girls, the items we are looking for are T-shirts that are appropriate for school, as well as shorts. 

Another way that people can help is to host a collection drive in their neighborhood, church or school. Bean says even students have hosted clothing drives.

Monetary donations, as well as volunteer inquiries, can be made through the nonprofit's website.