POWERGRAMS

39 EDUCATION They say clothes make the man. But Jackie Lee knows they can make the kid, too. "I was raised by my grandmother, and I saw how she had to struggle," said Lee, customer service representative, Atmore Office. "My sister and I only had a set amount of clothes because my grandmother wasn't able to afford more. Then, before I came to work at Alabama Power 21 years ago, it was a real struggle to make ends meet. I can relate to the financial issues today's parents and grandparents are facing." As a former teacher's aide in the Atmore School System – and a mother and grandmother – Lee has seen students in need bullied for wearing worn-out or ill-fitting clothes to class. Those clothes may be all a child has, but other students still won't give them a break, Lee said. "It hurts me to my heart for somebody to be picked on because their shirt is not clean or because they wear the same shirt for several days," she said. "I see the struggle of the parents, and I don't want that struggle to spill out on the kids." Three years ago, Lee took matters into her own hands – at least in her corner of the world. She organized a school uniform drive. Lee sent out the call through word of mouth, Facebook and her church's webpage asking for donations of new LEE'S SCHOOL UNIFORM EFFORTS BOOST STUDENTS' SELF-CONFIDENCE Students model outfits bought through employee efforts. Photo by Sherry Rudolph

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