Kids go on a shopping spree at Mervyn’s

Highland, California, Community News
http://www.highlandnews.net/articles/2008/07/24/news/04childspree.txt

Megan Foster, 7, was a little confused as she shopped with Kiwanis Club member Hazel George Saturday morning.

Imagine having $100 to spend on back-to-school clothes and shoes and having the whole Mervyn's store to shop in.

And, thanks to the Sue Hulse of the Kiwanis Club, that turned into $110, since legislation has passed that waived the sales tax. Hulse made several trips to Sacramento to promote the bill to give the children a little more shopping power.

Megan was one of 59 elementary school children who got to shop Saturday morning before store hours.

Mervyn's provided for 25 children, and the Kiwanis Clubs of Highland paid for the other 34 shoppers, and provided shoppers for each child, with help from the Kiwanis clubs of Loma Linda, Redlands Morning, Redlands Noon and Greater San Bernardino, the Radiant Rubies Red Hat Society and Thompson Elementary School, said Kiwanian Ryan English, who coordinated the event.

“Mervyn's has provided clothes for 190,000 children since we started Childspree in 1992,” said Mervyn's Manager Doris Parks. And she has been with Mervyn's for every one of them. She worked 10 years in Redlands before coming to the Highland store. She's been here for about a year.

She advised shoppers to make their money stretch by looking for sale items, including many “buy-one-get-one-free” sales. That didn't apply to athletic shoes, a favorite with the boys, but did include girls' shoes.

In addition to the clothes, the Kiwanis Clubs of Highland gave each child a backpack filled with school supplies they will need when school starts next month.