McGuffey student teacher prompts collection of warm clothes for her kids

YOUNGSTOWN

Soon after the recent cold snap made its presence felt in the Mahoning Valley, Kayla Rieser grew concerned when she realized some elementary-school youngsters were coming to their classes inadequately dressed for the conditions.

Nevertheless, it didn’t take her long to convert her worries to action.

“They came to school without socks in the cold weather, or without a long-sleeved shirt,” the Howland woman said, referring to some William Holmes McGuffey Elementary School first-graders with whom she works.

Rieser, a senior in a student-teaching program at Youngstown State University’s Beeghly College of Education, also works at Raptis Family Restaurant on state Route 46 near Warren.

She recently voiced her concerns to her employers, which led to a clothing drive on behalf of the youngsters who lacked adequate winter clothing.

Consequently, plenty of donated coats, mittens, hats, scarves, pairs of socks and sweatshirts were distributed Tuesday morning at the school, 310 S. Schenley Ave., on the West Side, to those in Nancy Miller’s first-grade class who needed the items.

Read more about the effort in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.