SALISBURY — On Monday morning at Old Navy, Jovi, a student at Morgan Elementary School, flips through a hanging display of leggings.

“I like this one,” she says, pointing at an orange floral pair.

Next to her, Cindy Walker reaches up high, searching for a pair in Jovi’s size. After hunting through layers of colorful fabric, they find one and head toward the fitting room.

“I’ve already got four pairs of shirts,” Jovi confides.

“We’re gonna have a fashion show,” Walker says.

Jovi is one of 80 students from Morgan Elementary receiving a free back-to-school shopping trip thanks to community churches. It’s a new program for the school, and one Principal Derek DiStefano said he started after reading about the impact that back-to-school shopping can have on families. The statistic DiStefano found estimates that the average American household spends about $500 on back-to-school shopping.

“And then we looked at the stress that puts on our families,” he said. “Going back to school should be exciting, not stressful.”

And it can have a negative effect on a student’s self-confidence and academic success, as well.

“Starting from Day 1, they’re already behind by not being prepared,” DiStefano said.

After a survey of school families and a few conversations with people at local churches, DiStefano and Morgan Elementary put together the outing. On Monday, two buses from Morgan carted students to Salisbury, where they got to shop for outfits at Old Navy and pick out sharp new shoes at Rack Room Shoes.

Several of the children told DiStefano they’d never been to Old Navy before.

“So it was just a great feeling to be able to do that,” he said.

Morgan Elementary doesn’t have a dress code, so students were allowed to purchase whatever they wanted — as long as it fell within budget. Thanks to donations from local churches and a discount offered by Rack Room, students were able to spend $55 on shoes and $45 to $50 at Old Navy, before tax.

Local churches involved included Lake Community Church, St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Liberty United Methodist Church and Providence United Methodist Church. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church also contributed.

Providence United Methodist also contributed book bags packed with all the school supplies students would need in the upcoming school year.

When administrators first came up with the idea, they were hoping they’d be able to garner sufficient donations to send 40 students shopping. But thanks to the amount given, 80 students got to go shopping Monday.

“It’s just an incredible amount of support from the faith community,” DiStefano said.

And next year, the program may expand. DiStefano has already met with other East Rowan County principals and with more faith leaders from the East Rowan area.

“And they all want to do the program next year,” he said.

The local community — particularly churches — has a giving nature. But, as one pastor told DiStefano, “people want to know what they’re giving toward.” The shopping trip is a tangible goal that has immediate results and benefits.

Students were also treated to a free lunch, courtesy of Subway in Granite Quarry, and received a coupon for a haircut from Great Clips in Rockwell.

As he stood watching his students pile colorful clothes into their arms, DiStefano recalled the words of one of them — a 6-year-old:

“’It doesn’t matter how you look, it matters how you feel,’” he quoted.

“And we want them to feel prepared,” he said.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.