Help for Every Child
Ambassadors for Children, an operating agency of the Council of Churches of the Ozarks, provides resources and support for foster children in Greene County.
From gap-toothed grins to innocent smirks, a smile on a child’s face is quick to spread joy. When a 6-year-old foster child paired one of these smiles with twinkling eyes and a truly sincere thank-you, Ambassadors for Children volunteer Gwen Hager knew she would spend many more of her future afternoons working at the agency’s Kid’s Clothes Closet.
Ambassadors for Children is an operating agency of the Council of Churches of the Ozarks that is dedicated to supporting foster children in Greene County. The Kid’s Clothes Closet, which is one of several programs the agency provides, is housed in the Ronald McDonald House. The foster children can visit two times per year, and on each trip they can have three complete outfits, a pair of pajamas, a gift card for shoes, a coupon for a free haircut and more.
Hager has volunteered at the Kid’s Clothes Closet with a group of co-workers from Great Southern Operations Office each year since 2002. It was her first year volunteering when she met the inspiring 6-year-old child. She remembers him well, particularly the excitement that spread over his face when he saw tags on all of the clothes.
Want to Help?If you’re interested in donating money, you can send a check payable to Ambassadors for Children to Attn: Sondra Uzzell, 627 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, Missouri, 65802. If you’re interested in volunteering your time or helping with the Adopt-a-Caseworker program, you can contact Uzzell at 417-862-3586 or e-mail her at suzzell@ccozarks.org. |
Agency director Sondra Uzzell says the kids are often that excited when they realize the clothing items are brand-new. “When they go in and see the tags, the kids can’t believe no one has worn them before, and that they fit them correctly, and that they have no holes in them. It really makes them happy,” Uzzell says.
It’s that joy that is often shared with the volunteers and keeps them coming back. “We had done other volunteer work before, but this was different,” Hager says. “The feeling [volunteering] gave us was so good.”
The Ambassadors for Children agency also offers several other programs for foster children in Greene County, including Project Self-Esteem; a tutoring scholarships program; the Pack-a-bag With Love program and the agency’s newest program, Adopt-a-Caseworker. Any foster child from Greene County is eligible to receive resources from Ambassadors for Children, regardless of his or her foster family’s income.
