Warm the Children

The Warm The Children (WTC) program provides children with new warm clothing: coats, hats, boots, mittens and other essentials at the start of Michigan’s winter season. Each year, school counselors and social workers in Washtenaw County, refer children in need of warm clothing to this program. Since its founding in 1995, the program has served thousands of local children in Washtenaw County.

Mary Stewart, program coordinator and daughter of program founder, Mack Stewart, is the Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor Foundation’s Warm The Children contact person. In 1997, the Ann Arbor News (now AnnArbor.com) embraced the program. Doug Ziesemer, former WTC contact, describes what happened this way, “Cathy O’Donnell, then an editor at The News, asked if our Kiwanis Club’s members would serve as volunteer WTC shoppers. The Club has always been very careful about committing to any new program that requires member hours as our Kiwanis Thrift sale is our big fundraising project and requires full member support. In 2017, Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor Foundation’s members voted to become Warm The Children program’s official sponsor. Looking back, it was the right decision. A number of our members have been WTC shoppers since the start. It is a program our community needed and continues to grow every year.”

In Washtenaw County, Warm the Children is led by a partnership between Old National Bank and the Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor Foundation, Inc.

Warm the Children’s annual goal is to raise $250,000 in order to serve as many children who are in need. Children have the opportunity to choose new warm clothing that will keep them warm all winter long by visiting a local store with their families and a volunteer shopper to buy $90 worth of new winter items.

All of the dollars donated go to provide warm clothing for local children in need. 100% of your donation goes directly to clothing purchases.