Community
RUSSELL JAFFE
Fall Clothing Drive Start cleaning out your closet now for United Action for Youth's annual clothing drive.
20 Nov. 7-21 2012 | Little Village
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ou’re as good as you feel. Style is everything. If you live and breathe in the gasoline-andFrench-Fries-scented eddy of freedom we call America, undoubtedly you’ve heard some variation on these messages revolving through our collective consciousness like shopping mall doors equating looking stylish with self esteem. But who can’t relate to those teenage days when looks really were about more—about developing a sense of self, an identity, a way of navigating changing, often uncomfortable times? But in some cases, it’s about simply having wearable, clean clothes. Iowa City’s United Action for Youth (355 Iowa Avenue) knows that many of us take the latest looks for granted while there are teens right here in Johnson County, right on our streets and in our schools, wearing dingy, torn attire simply because they don’t have other options. For the fourth year in a row, they are doing something about it, and it’s making a difference for the young people of our community. United Action For Youth has been here in Iowa City since 1970. “When I graduated, I came back and was working at a Mexican restaurant. I have always had some aspect of my life, wherever I’ve lived, involved with giving back to my community, and I heard about UAY I felt like I needed to be more productive in my life,” says Elena Rodriguez, a mid-20’s Iowa City native and Stanford graduate with a Masters in Sociology. “I got in touch with them and started volunteering. They have a lot of opportunities for young people and adults. People in general should be getting involved, doing something positive,” she says, smiling. “It feels good to do because it IS good to do!” Elena works with the Transitional Living Program. It’s for young people ages 16-21 who are homeless or in unstable living situations, offering a residential program—the UAY has several houses with apartments— and assistance connecting youths to important services, like job preparedness training and food assistance. But Elena is most excited, now, for the fourth-annual Fall Clothing Drive. Started in 2009 after UAY volunteers heard from a wide range of kids about not wanting to go to school because they were ashamed of their ill-fitted or out of style clothes. “Too many didn’t want to go because they just didn’t want to be seen,” Elena says. “[UAY volunteers] thought, ‘we can do something about this.’ So we’re taking appropriate teenaged clothing and hygiene items. Cool clothes, name brands, or even a variety so they aren’t wearing the same thing all the time. Teens are impressionable and making an impression counts at that age—no