Students must look their best when they meet folks at Auburn’s annual Career Conference who might hire them.

That’s a no brainer. But the sad truth is that many Auburn families don’t have the money to provide their kids what they need to make the all-important first impression.

For years, Auburn Communities in Schools (CIS) has helped kids in this dilemma, supplying them with suits and jackets and ties and dresses and shoes donated by the Auburn community. By leveraging its clothing donations with cash, CIS can supply three adult-sized students with professional business attire for only $52.

But the arson fire that swept the self-storage unit on Auburn Way North on July 11 reduced the tennis shoes, jackets, books, toys, diapers, sweaters and ties to piles of ashes.

“We got out one week after the fire to see the actual damage for the first time,” said CIS Executive Director Arlene Pierini. “We are very near the epicenter.”

Last week the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce sent out a 4-alarm e-mail on behalf of CIS. (See box below)

And in a very big way, the Auburn community responded.

“Since the information went out, there’s been an outpouring from the community, pledges in cash and pledges in donations and we are extremely grateful for that. While the loss of items for students in need from the storage unit has caused us difficulty, support from our caring community will help us recover.”

Pierini knows that others who lost have not been as lucky.

“Our thoughts are with those fire victims who lost irreplaceable items,” Pierini said.

Communities in school began in 1985 as the all-volunteer Auburn School Lunch Program. Its first mission was to ensure that kids at the middle school level, which did not then qualify to participate in the federal lunch program, would not go hungry.

Ultimately, the federal government and school districts resolved their disconnect.

But realizing that students suffered from all sorts of other unmet needs, the organization kept working to meet them. In 2001 the Auburn School Lunch Program became part of the 26-state National Community for Schools and changed its name.

“Our mission is to surround students with a community of support, to empower them to stay in school and succeed in life,” Pierini said. “To do that in Auburn, we have programs to address the two biggest risk factors for dropping out of school: poverty; and lack of academic success. Lots of time those two are very intertwined. We help students in need throughout the district with just a variety of things to help their effort to stay in school be successful.”

Among that “variety of things” are certifications for glasses and eye exams.

It also offers tutoring programs to help students at some of Auburn’s elementary and middle schools with the highest rate of poverty and English language learners. The organization brings community community volunteers to those schools to help kids and contract with teachers for after-school math programs.

“One of our most successful programs is the peer-tutoring program, where we identify kindergartners having a difficult time reading. We pair them with peer tutors in fifth grade and at the middle school, providing a safe place where they can gather after school,” Pierini said.

=====

Here is a partial list of items lost:

• More than 900 pairs of new children’s sneakers

• Men and women suit jackets, used or new

• Men and women slacks, new

• Men and women dress shoes, new or used

• Women’s dresses

• Men and women shirts, sweaters, belts and ties

• Boys and girls clothing

• Books

• Toys

• Diapers

• Auction supplies such as clipboards, baskets, bags, gift wrap, tissue paper, tape, staplers and scissors

• Clothing racks, plastic storage bins and metal shelving.

• A mini wooden bus, used to collect school supplies.

To find out more about helping CIS, call Arlene Pierini at (253) 288-7659, or email her at cisauburn@comcast.net.

Pierini has supplied the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce, 108 S. Division St., B, with a barrel to collect donated items. Feel free to drop something off between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.