In 2011, Denise Capoccioni gave birth to a stillborn daughter.
From something traumatic came a positive, though: Denise and her husband, Greg Capoccioni, an assistant principal at Penn-Trafford High School, began organizing a clothing drive to benefit Western Pa. children in need of back-to-school clothes.
The Capoccionis, Penn Township residents, started the drive when their stillborn daughter, Ava, would have been in kindergarten. Now, as Ava would have entered sixth grade, the 2022 drive will be the final one.
“It’s very bittersweet to stop it because I know how much people do benefit from it, but there has to be (a) beginning and an ending,” Denise Capoccioni said. “Hopefully, we can end it on a very high, positive note.”
For the past seven years, districts have shared the clothing needs of their K-12 students with the Capoccionis.
The family picks a drop-off day when people can donate new clothes or money, which is used to buy clothes.
Then, the Capoccionis, along with their adopted daughter, Gia, distribute the clothes to the districts. Each clothing item comes in a bag with a note memorializing Ava and her birthday.
Participating districts have included Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Gateway, Hempfield, Jeannette, McKeesport, Wilkinsburg, North Hills, Allegheny Valley, Shaler, Rockwood, Shade-Central, Somerset and North Star.
“Every kid should have a brand-new outfit to go back to school,” Denise Capoccioni said.
This year’s drive comes as inflation hits many families hard. The National Retail Federation projects that 2022 spending on school supplies and clothes will match last year’s high of $37 billion.
The association estimates that K-12 families will spend on average $864 on school supplies — $15 more than in 2021.
If you donate
The 2022 donation date is Saturday, Aug. 20.
Donors can drop off new clothes for K-12 students between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the parking lot of the North Huntingdon Target along Route 30. If donors aren’t sure what age to buy for, Denise Capoccioni said they are typically low on boys’ sizes 10-16.
Donors can also give money or gift cards that Denise Capoccioni will use to buy clothes.
FirstLine has donated a school bus the Capoccionis will use to transport the clothes. The family hopes to fill the bus with donations.
Denise Capoccioni thanked donors for their support over the past seven years.
“Without them, this would not have been such a big success,” she said. “Thank you for keeping our daughter’s memory alive.”
