The reputation and rankings of Frisco and Frisco ISD seem to be stellar and paint a picture of an ideal place to live.

But living in Frisco ISD doesn’t present the same reality for everyone as 13 percent of families in the district are defined as economically disadvantaged.

To help combat this, the Frisco ISD Council of PTAs has created a new program to make many lives of FISD families a little easier by providing free clothes to students. 

“Several years ago, council members identified the need in the community,” PTA Clothes Closet Chair Tara Childers said. “There were resources for food like Lovepacs, Fastpacks, hygiene products like Refresh, but no service in our district to help provide school clothing for the economically disadvantaged students in FISD.”

Frisco Threads drew inspiration from other school districts that had already implemented similar programs and deemed them beneficial. 

“PTA Councils from other districts were very helpful in sharing how they operate and providing tips for starting our own clothes closet,” Childers said. “This research helped us develop our goals and processes for Frisco Threads.”

Council members first opened the clothes closet in mid-August in order to help families get ready for the upcoming school year. 

“In the summer of 2021, we began taking donations of new and gently used clothing,” FISD Council of PTAs’ President Terri Palmer said. “Later that summer we set up the shopping room at Acker Special Programs Center and opened for our first day of family shopping.”

Not only is the facility actively working to reduce clothing expenses for parents and families, but also putting the necessities of a good childhood education at the forefront.

“We hope receiving these clothes helps give children more confidence and the ability to focus on learning and peer relationships, rather than worrying about their clothes,” Palmer said. “We also hope this provides some financial relief to families in our area that may be having a hard time.”