Rainbows symbolize different things to different people. For many of us, the rainbow is a sign of hope — to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that blessings will open to us.
In the state of Texas, Rainbow Rooms are resource centers located within local Child Protective Services (CPS) offices. CPS caseworkers can get supplies for children of abuse or neglect, such as clothing, coats, shoes, school supplies and diapers.
There is a Rainbow Room in Borger on the fourth floor of the Borger Bank building. In Region 1, which comprises the Panhandle and West Texas as far south as Muleshoe, there are 10 Rainbow Rooms.
Besides all of the supplies mentioned above, the Borger Rainbow Room has lots and lots of toys and bicycles. For a child, the Rainbow Room is like Christmas 365 days a year.
“We have anything a child may need when they are taken away from a home,” said Carrie Burleson, one of the many volunteers who help run the Borger Rainbow Room.
Children who are taken from homes where drug abuse was an issue cannot take anything with them because there could be drug residue on the items, she said.
The same policy goes for a when a child is taken from an unsanitary environment, she said. Sometimes a child’s clothes are changed by a CPS worker before taken out of the house.
Sadly, Burleson said about 90 percent of the children brought into the Rainbow Room by a CPS caseworker come from a home environment affected by drug abuse.
“Children are allowed to come in (with their caseworker),” she said. “It’s especially fun for the older children who get to pick out their clothes.”
She added, “It’s pretty devastating what they are wearing and how unclean they are when they come in.”
Burleson said during Christmas time in 2018, just over 170 children were brought in.
The Borger Rainbow Room has no paid staff. Besides being a volunteer, Burleson serves on the board.
All the items at the Rainbow Room are either donated or purchased. The items must brand new.
Burleson said that most of the Borger Bank’s staff are familiar with the Rainbow Room, so donations can be made on the ground floor.
For more information about the Borger Rainbow Room, call Burleson at 806-670-9536.