Fitting Futures gives new clothes, confidence to Lincoln students

She'd worked hard to instill in her children the importance of taking risks and aspiring toward ambitious goals. In 2019, she decided it was time to find out what that lesson meant for herself.

“I'm like, OK, I'm not dead yet,” Lauer said. “There's got to be something out there.”

That “something” is now a growing nonprofit that sends dozens of Lincoln students home from school each week with new outfits and hygiene kits.

Lauer never had aspirations to start her own organization. But after a visit to St. Louis to see the work of a similar nonprofit, she came back to Lincoln with a vision and desire to make an impact on the city's children — particularly, the ones who don't know what it's like to wear a brand-new outfit to school.

Dave Lauer was still working full time as a chiropractor but immediately supported his wife's idea.

Seven years later, Fitting Futures has provided what Kelly and Dave Lauer call “bundles of joy” to nearly 9,000 students at Lincoln Public Schools' highest-need elementary schools. 

It's a “pretty good start,” Dave Lauer said, and Kelly agreed. But the couple has aspirations to one day be able to provide all students from kindergarten to 12th grade with bundles of joy. 

In 2019, when Fitting Futures was just an idea, the Lauers approached Belmont Elementary Principal Kim Rosenthal with their proposal. 

“They proposed this idea of being able to give our students new clothing, and it was such an easy yes for me,” said Rosenthal, who now serves on Fitting Futures' board.

With the go ahead from Rosenthal, Kelly Lauer began to research where to purchase new clothes in bulk. Shopko closures helped in the beginning. The Lauers now buy wholesale from markets in Las Vegas.

That first year, Fitting Futures provided 165 Belmont students with new outfits. Rosenthal said she's seen students barely able to contain their excitement after returning to school the day after their fitting.

“Kids are so excited about these clothes that they'll continue to wear them multiple days a week because they're so excited that they got to pick them out,” Rosenthal said.

The impact goes beyond a child's excitement for a new outfit, the Lauers said. Surveys from teachers and staff consistently show students return to school after their fittings with smiles on their faces, improved attendance and heightened focus in class.

“I think that's a big deal because if you can get the kids to show up and just listen, that is worth it right there,” Dave Lauer said. “You don't know how many of them are going to stay in school because they got new clothes — but some of them are.”

This fall, Fitting Futures began serving students at Park Middle School, meaning the nonprofit now visits 20 schools each week with totes of clothes for kids to choose from, try on and take home.

Staff at each school nominate the students they think could benefit from new outfits, and a Fitting Future volunteer brings the clothes for students to try on in a privacy tent. They each leave the fitting with two pairs of pants, two shirts, two pairs of socks and underwear, a new pair of shoes and a hygiene kit.

“So many of those kids have never had that experience — to get a brand-new outfit ... that they get to pick out, that they get to try on, like a shopping experience,” Kelly Lauer said. “I think, more than anything, it took off because of the joy that those kids felt, and to be a part of that joy is such an honor.”

Dave and Kelly said they're thankful for their network of hundreds of volunteers who continue to support Fitting Futures. They understand why people keep coming back to help.

“Once you've seen those kids trying on clothes and looking at themselves in the mirror, you just can't unsee that, and you can't unfeel that,” Dave Lauer said.

One of the stories he often tells is the time a little girl found out she was going to receive a hygiene kit along with her two new outfits.

“She was just stunned,” he said. “She got all these clothes and everything, but the toothbrush was the thing that stood out. She goes, ‘We won't have to share anymore.’”

The Fitting Futures volunteer quickly learned her entire family had been sharing one toothbrush and sent her home with five more.

“You just don't think about it,” Dave Lauer said. “Most of us don't ever experience that or get to a point where you have to think about it.”

The Lauers said it's been a joy to watch their grandchildren visit for holidays and see how their grandparents' nonprofit is changing the lives of kids in Lincoln.

Kelly Lauer said she encourages everyone to find their own source of motivation, and they might be surprised at what they're able to accomplish after some commitment and dedication.

“I always thought that if you don't try to find the answer, then you're missing out,” she said.

Dave Lauer said running a nonprofit is like a business, complete with the same challenges in finding ways to be sustainable. It could be tempting to lose sight of the vision, but Dave said Kelly has always kept Fitting Futures focused on its mission to make kids' lives better. 

“I'm very proud of her,” Dave Lauer said. “She could have been a CEO of anything — but she chose this.”