Over the past two summers we have held hugely successful clothing drives in Teaneck, helping almost 100 families each year and later partnering with Yad Sarah to send the leftover clothing to Israel.
The drive is held during the three weeks and begins each year with a few days of drop-off and sorting. Members of the community are called upon to donate new and gently worn children’s clothing, which is then separated by gender, sorted by size, and folded neatly onto designated tables by the volunteers. This is followed by two weeks of private and semi-private shopping appointments, where people in need from our community can sign up anonymously and come “shop” for whatever they need for their families.
Last year’s drive held at RYNJ, was very successful and the families expressed their gratitude so completely, we decided to do it again this year. The drive will begin on July 20th at Keter Torah.
We are collecting boys and girls clothing, coats and shoes in VERY GOOD condition (please no holes, rips or stains) size infant to 14. Please make every effort to sort the clothing by gender and size and label the bags as such! Please no camp, school, or personalized T-shirts.
Drop off will be at the Keter Torah ballroom as follows:
SUNDAY, July 20 from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. and MONDAY, July 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.and from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. (or during minyan times during those two days). Please bring clothing into ballroom; DO NOT leave outside the shul.
If you or anyone you know would benefit from the clothing drive, please email [email protected] to be put their name on our distribution list for information about this year’s drive. All information is kept confidential. Participants are able to sign up privately and have private shopping appointments with only one volunteer present at the time to help out.
The clothing drive cannot be successful without the help of our donors and volunteers! We will need volunteers for sorting and folding on July 20-23, and for shopping days July 24-31. Kids age 9 and older are welcome to help with the sorting.
There is a Google doc with sign-up times for volunteers for both sorting and shopping. Please email [email protected] for the link.
While we organize the logistics of the drive, the volunteers who work tirelessly, the organization that lends us a venue, and those who make donations are the ones who make this endeavor possible. Your efforts are appreciated and the thank yous are for you, with extra special thanks to Keter Torah and Five Star Catering. Local venues that lend us their space each year are vital to making the clothing drive possible.
By Chana Holzer Shields & Dalia Stelzer
