The back-to-school season is typically celebrated as a time for families to refresh their children’s wardrobes and flaunt their first-day outfits. But for many families, there is an invisible story that’s not being told. Across America, many kids in low-income households do not have enough socks and underwear to wear to school.

This season, JCPenney is asking customers to “Pair Up with JCPenney” to ensure all kids have the basics they need to succeed. From Aug. 1-15, for each pack of kids’ socks or underwear customers buy, JCPenney will donate a pack to the Y to distribute to kids in need, up to 750,000 pairs.

To shed a light on this need, JCPenney commissioned America’s Youth: The Need for Basic Necessities. a study that found some alarming news:

40% of low income parents worry about their child having enough socks and underwear.

55% of children who did not have underwear and socks to wear wanted to skip school or refused to go to school because they were embarrassed by not having any.

46% of parents living in poverty say underwear is among the hardest to find items at second handstores, garage sales or through friends and family.

The “Pair Up with JCPenney” promotion builds on the retailer’s signature charity partnership with the Y. To help ensure kids have what they need to succeed, The JCPenney Foundation made a $1 million contribution to the Y earlier this year in support of the organization’s national early childhood, afterschool and preschool programs.

Visit JCPenneyPairUp.com to learn more and help make a difference.