We all have our own unique examples of what Washtenaw County is about. Many of my impressions about this community come from talking to so many business owners here for my job as business news director for AnnArbor.com.

I also get a sense of who we are, collectively, through the small examples of daily life in the Ann Arbor schools, as told over the years by my children.

Their voices give glimpses into their classmates’ situations without filter, and without judgment. Yet some of those small conversations stick with me, and two came to mind this fall as I volunteered to be a Warm The Children Shopper.

The first comes from an Ann Arbor middle school, when one of our children started peppering conversations with mention of the high-end brand Burberry. Kids at his school had discovered it, and were proudly carrying purses that cost $500 or more and wearing the brand’s clothing, too. And it became a topic of conversation for many of the kids as they learned how much the items had cost and started to want to wear it, too.

The second comes from an Ann Arbor elementary school, where a boy had a coat that was way too big and didn’t have a zipper, so the lunch staff was tying a scarf around his waist so that he could join the other kids on the playground for lunch.

I believe examples like those exist daily in every school district in this county. The coveted brands will change, but there’s a segment of our community who doesn’t need to worry about what it spends on children’s clothing. There’s also a portion that sets a budget based on household income.

And there also are families that find themselves unable to purchase all of the apparel - particularly winter clothing - that their children need.

These kids aren’t faceless or distant. They’re living in our neighborhoods and sitting in our children’s classrooms, maybe next to a child with Burberry.

And thanks to Warm the Children, community support of those kids isn’t distant, either. It’s our community donating to the program and volunteer shoppers coming forward to make sure it works. I’m one of them.

The program, now in its 14th year, helps local families fulfill a basic need: Outfitting their children.

The amount they get to spend went up this year, thanks to Target. There’s a $90 voucher, tax-free shopping and a 5% discount from the retailer, bringing the amount a child can spend up to $94.50.

In the checkout lanes, that added spending power means a lot. The big number on the cashier’s screen blasts the retail price - but it’s the smaller subtotal above that that’s the “real” number that the volunteers are supposed to use.

So while many parents and kids look at the screen and think “we just went over,” they really haven’t - and they (and their volunteer shopper) express a mix of joy and relief as that last item stays in the bag and the cashier hands it over.

Most of the families that I see in the program make the most of every dollar, some bringing their own calculators to figure out to the penny what purchases make the most sense for their kids.

Some still don’t get everything their children need. They make choices between shoes and boots, or jeans and pajamas, or underwear and gloves. They make a mental inventory of closets and drawers, noting what’s in worse shape and what their child can use the most.

Those are personal decisions, and I’ve never felt the need to step into that planning while shopping as a Warm the Children volunteer. The parents can make their own decisions.

I feel the same way about the kids who are dressing in Burberry. The kids who get Burberry coats and purses may or may not appreciate them. They may or may not know what they cost. Their parents may or may not care about the price. That’s their decision for their families, too.

I’m just happy that Warm the Children exists in this community for the other kids. And I’m thankful that so many people donate their cash to make this program work for so many children, year after year.