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Each year, the YIELD group (Youth Investing Energy in Leadership Development) completes a Community Impact Project as a graduation requirement. YIELD students are high school juniors from Mason City High School, Newman Catholic High School, and the Alternative High School who have been identified by school administrators and faculty as future leaders. This year’s class decided to help people in need of clothing, developing a program to place clothing racks around the city – a project they are calling “Clothe Our Community.”
The students first identified the need for this type of project. They called upon Crisis Intervention Service, the United Way of North Central Iowa, Northern Lights Alliance for the Homeless, and local schools for insight. As a result, they found that there are some programs for specific age groups in place and vouchers available for clothing, but nothing like the “Clothe Our Community” program currently exists in Mason City.
The concept of their project is simple – everyone is invited to donate pre-washed, gently used items to the cause; anyone in need is welcome to take from the racks. Later this winter, clothing racks will be outfitted with signage explaining how the program works and stationed at 2 locations in Mason City: one at Community Kitchen of North Iowa, and the other, which will be specifically for youth, housed at Lincoln Intermediate School.
Students are seeking donations for laundered, seasonal clothing to fill the racks. Please bring pre-washed donations now through January 15th to the North Iowa Regional Commerce Center (9 N Federal Ave) during regular business hours (Monday-Friday 8AM-4:30PM). For the initial launch of the program, students will distribute clothes to the locations at Lincoln Intermediate and the Community Kitchen of North Iowa. After the initial launch, the public is free to add/remove clothing from the racks on their own.
YIELD, which originated in 2003, is a program of the Chamber of Commerce to provide leadership training to youth. The program now serves as a model for other communities.
To download information in PDF format, click HERE.
