How to Organize a Clothes Race

When children encounter homeless people in the city streets, they often have questions.
Who is that person with a winter coat in July? Why is s/he pushing a cart full of junk?
What's in all those bags? If presented sensitively, the Clothes Race lets children experience the discomfort of living on the street and creates empathy for those who do..

Make sure children understand that even if they have read and heard stories that feature children who interact with homeless people, they should never speak to strangers or talk to a homeless person without a parent or teacher around.

Before the race, student organizers bring discarded clean clothes - oversized jackets, hats, pants etc. - from family.
Create posters (see below) of race rules.
Practice oral questions to ask pre- race.
Practice questions to ask post- race.
On the day before the race, arrange 3 clothes piles (pants, top, hat, etc.) for contestants. Make sure each pile has some oversized or undersized garments.
On race day, hang rules & tips posters at station.
Place 3 cones where runners will turn & head back to line.
Place pre-arranged clothes piles at 3 stations.

Race Rules Poster
1. Divide into 3 equal teams.
2. Line up behind the yellow line.
3. The first persons in each team put on everything in clothes pile.
4. At the whistle, they run down to the cones and back.
5. Take off clothes for the next runners.
6. Do this until everyone has gone.
7. The team that is sitting with pretzel legs in a row WINS!!!

Tips and Reminders Poster
1. Don't help others put on clothes.
2. Behave yourself.
3. Stay behind the line.
4. Keep clothes on all the way. If they fall off pick them up and put them back on.
5. HAVE FUN!!!!

Pre-Race Questions
Why do homeless people wear or carry a lot of clothing?
( sample answers: Because they don't have a home with a bedroom to store them.)
What do they use for a closet? (sample answers: bags, or shopping carts)
How can they protect their most precious belongings? (sample answers: often by wearing layers of clothes, even during hot weather)

Post-Race Questions
What can you do to help the homeless?
- Donate clothing & food cans to shelters and soup kitchens,
- Donate change to organizations like Pine Street Inn.
- Volunteer with a parent at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen.