Tires and Treads Provides Clothes, Shoes to Kids in Need Across St. Clair County

A St. Clair County woman continues to ensure kids in need have access to clothing and shoes.

Fran Morris, founder of the nonprofit Tires and Treads Community Project, has collected boots, shoes, socks, underclothes, coats, hats, and gloves from her home since 2016. Her organization partners with 14 St. Clair County elementary schools to provide these essential clothing items for the schools' clothing closets.

When staff sees any child in need, regardless of the child's family circumstances, they help the child select an article of clothing from the closet.

When a specific need arises, reported by either a faculty member or a school counselor, Morris shares posts to the organization's Facebook page and its approximately 4,000 followers. Volunteers bring these items to Morris, where she drops them off at any participating school within 48 hours of the request.

Morris said she was inspired to create her nonprofit when she saw a local elementary school teacher's social media post 10 years ago asking for shoes for students whose shoes were so tight that they had trouble walking.

As a child, Morris recalled how her clothing was purchased from garage sales at the homes of her schoolmates.

“That was my upbringing,” Morris said in an interview with The Keel. “I grew up with very little and always felt invisible.”

While waitressing at her job, Morris mentioned the idea to several customers, and to her surprise, they came back with boxloads of children's shoes to donate to her cause.

“The more people who heard my heart, the more people wanted to help,” she added in her interview.

The Tires and Treads Community Project holds holiday clothing drives and eight community car shows throughout the year to raise funds to benefit kids in need.

The organization's next St. Clair County car show is on Sunday, June 8, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Restoration Christian Community Church, 3201 Gratiot Ave. in Port Huron.