Wanted: Your Old Jeans

We all have them. They are the pair of jeans you never wear but are still hung up in the dark corner of your closet.

Well, if you’re looking for an opportunity to create a bit of closet space for yourself, consider donating those dusty pair of jeans to . By donating jeans, you’ll help the students in their efforts to participate in the 4th annual Aeropostale Jean Drive, a nationwide effort to collect jeans for the homeless.

The drive is coordinated by Estelle Sato, a retired teacher and president of the Cerritos Elementary Education Foundation. Sato said she proposed the idea to join the drive because it offered the opportunity to give back to their community that has given so much to the Foundation.

“Our jobs are to fundraise and save school programs, and I thought it was time that we did something to give back,” Sato said. “It’s time to give back for a charitable cause.”

The Cerritos Elementary community has taken the task to heart, and since the drive began on Jan. 17, the 650 students at Cerritos Elementary have collected over 1,250 pairs of jeans of all shapes, sizes and colors. In an effort to collect as many jeans as possible, the students have created flyers and posters, and in each classroom there is a chart showing how much that class has donated.

While the school has managed to collect an impressive amount of jeans for the drive, Sato emphasizes that the effort to collect jeans should not be done solely to win the prize of $5,000. Rather, the prize is giving to the homeless to keep them warm.

“I never had a goal, because I never thought of winning,” Sato said. “I just wanted the Foundation to do something that would give to a charitable cause and give the students the opportunity to get connected to a charitable cause.”

The jean drive ends this Friday, Feb 11 and donations are welcome from anyone. All jeans are acceptable, including shorts and capris.