Just in time for the 2025-26 school year, more than 400 families in the Socorro Independent School District and throughout El Paso received assistance in obtaining new secondhand school uniforms.
Socorro ISD and the Ysleta Lions Club invited families from across the city to participate in the 15th Annual School Uniform Swap on July 19 at Eastlake High School.
Parents like Kierra Rocha exchanged clean, gently used uniforms their children had outgrown for better-fitting ones.
“Are those too big?” Rocha asked her daughter, who was trying on a pair of pants. “Try these on.”
As a busy mom of four, with a sixth grader at Eastlake Middle School, a fourth grader, and a child in PreK at Dr. Sue Shook Elementary School, Rocha said that her children outgrow their uniforms every six months.
“I try to size a little bigger for the pants in anticipation for winter, and then a current fit for the shorts and skirts,” said Rocha, who donated 30 items and received 30 in return. “The shirts are pretty consistent.”
The event, which included volunteers from the El Paso Five Points Lions Club, Westar Bank, GEICO, Progressive and SISD high school students, provided an opportunity for the community to ensure that every child was prepared for a successful school year.
Orlando Rodriguez, Ysleta Lions Club president, said families began lining up outside the school at 6:30 a.m. on the day of the swap.
Parents were encouraged to drop off their children’s pre-loved school uniforms at various locations throughout El Paso before the event. In exchange, they received a voucher for an equal number of items at the event. Items available for exchange included polo shirts, pants, shorts, and other school uniform pieces. About 2,000 items were distributed to families.
Rodriguez estimated that families saved between $500 and $800 by participating in the uniform swap.
“There's a need, people need to have their uniforms, and they do not have the resources to be able to make the expense,” Rodriguez said.
Melisa Borges, whose daughter is starting sixth grade at Hurshel Antwine Middle School, was grateful to the district and the Lions club for providing free uniforms. This was her first time participating in the event. She said that her daughter had outgrown most of her clothes, and the 21 uniform items she received would be a huge help.
“Sometimes we struggle financially, and this help is phenomenal for us parents,” Borges said in Spanish. “Since our children are growing up, they leave their clothes behind, and so it's also very good for us to donate. You’re also helping us by giving us things others donate.”
For Chan’tel Moon, whose five children will attend Pebble Hills High School, SSG. Manuel R. Puentes Middle School and James P. Butler Elementary School this year, donating items to the uniform swap was just as important as receiving them. Moon, who donated about 30 items, said the event was a great way to reuse clothing and help the environment.
“I think it's great that you guys do this for the community,” Moon said. “I think it's sustainable. We're not just consuming, we're able to recycle. I think it's great.”