More than 130 new clothing items were donated July 9 by Marshfield Clinic Research Institute to the Best First Day project, which aims to support local families in dressing their children as they begin a new school year. Research Institute staff collected the clothing from June 3 to July 8.

The vision of Best First Day is to enrich the lives of our future by having every kid dressed with confidence. All of the clothes will be handed out August 14 at Soup or Socks where the families will be able to "shop" for the clothes. 

"It's great that we are able to give these kids a chance to feel confident about how they're dressed by using a shopping cart to pick out their own new clothes," said Krystal Boese, administrative assistant at the Research Institute and one of the chairs of the drive.

The Research Institute participated last year, which was very successful, donating more than 110 clothing items.

"We have had tremendous response from all staff, either donating money or new clothing items, Boese said. "I have been very impressed by the response we received."