The six-year-old non-profit, which gives new and gently used clothes to local families, has undergone a small transformation. Most notably, Clothes To Kids moved its operations from the West Side’s Yerwood Center to the South End’s Lathon Wider Community Center.
The shift was painful at first — Executive Director Elaine Rubinson said it was difficult to leave the space that birthed Clothes To Kids — but the new, second-floor facility at the community center comes with its perks.
The Lathon Wider space is made up of two gargantuan rooms: one for storage and the other for customers.
The “store,” where patrons can browse for clothes alongside a Clothes To Kids personal shopping volunteer, is technically two separate spaces. Clothing racks fill one, full of jackets and T-shirts and jeans. A smaller room pained baby pink is full of shoe shelves, a new addition to the Clothes To Kids operations. Rubinson explained that there was only space for a handful of rows in the original location.
“This was a really great move for us even though it didn’t feel like that at the time,” she added.
The new location isn’t the only change. For more than two years, the non-profit has provided curbside service only. So instead of the guided browsing sessions that the organization prioritized before the pandemic, Clothes To Kids’ about 25 volunteers packed sacks full of clothes for people to pick up.
But starting Sept. 13, it will revert to its old format. By appointment only and after proving eligibility, shoppers will pick out their clothes in person for the first time in more than two years.
The curbside method served the need for decent, clean clothes among people in need, but it fell short of fulfilling the organization’s mission, Rubinson said.
To Rubinson, choice is an integral part of what Clothes To Kids provides. Through the shopping experience at the non-profit, children and teenagers can explore their personal tastes without causing economic strain on their families.
If anything exemplifies the kind of loss Clothes To Kids has experienced over the course of the pandemic, it is the cropped fur jacket hanging from a hanger near the entrance. The coat is a milky shade of brown and almost in mint condition. The inside is lined with satin; a big Abercrombie label sits just below the collar.
“I would never put this in a bag,” lead volunteer Merryl Hackman said. “Not because it’s not cute.”
But when putting together curbside bags for people served by the non-profit, Hackman leans conservative. Without the recipients beside her, decency — not style — is her guiding light.
The last thing she wants is for someone to feel uncomfortable in the clothes she selects, especially because patrons couldn’t try on the clothes before getting a bag, she said. And so, the fur jacket stayed on the shelves.
People are entitled to five tops, four pairs of pants, seven new pairs of underwear, seven pairs of socks and one pair of shoes per person every six months. All items are free. Shoppers must wear masks while in-store, as per the non-profit’s policy.
Clothes To Kids used to select qualifying families by using Stamford Public Schools’ free and reduced lunch lists. However, the school district for the upcoming academic year moved to make breakfast and lunch at school free for all students. Now, any family enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, HUSKY Health or the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families initiative can shop at Clothes To Kids.
Clothes To Kids accepts donations of new and gently used clothing at its Stamford site: the Lathon Wider Community Center, 137 Henry St. To inquire about donating clothes or volunteering, contact Elaine Rubinson at [email protected] .