Our Story

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Donating unwanted clothing is a wonderful idea - but unfortunately, it often  does not get to the people who need it.  Despite our best intentions, much of what is generously given in the hope of being helpful, winds up in the garbage. 

We are two grandmas in a small town, semi-retired, who like to do projects together. One had access to brand new clothing from a local store that was going to be shipped back to a warehouse; the other had a closet full of nice office clothes she no longer wore.  We took our donations and volunteered  at a local clothing shelf - only to find they were overwhelmed with donations and did not have the capacity to sort and distribute the items. We were dismayed to discover our donations were discarded. Upon further investigation, we learned that 80% of discarded clothing goes to landfills!

And yet,  we knew there were people in our own community who would enjoy  these clothes and give then a second life. 

How does this happen?

  - Charities often do not have adequate staffing to manage the process. 

  - People who need clothes may not have the ability to get to distribution centers. 

  - Social workers and counselors do not have the time to shop for  their clients.  

We decided to become the missing piece by managing distribution and matching needs.

The Community Clothesline solicits donations, networks with social service agencies, sorts, inventories and picks up and delivers clothes  directly to  people who need them. We also connect with nonprofit groups (schools, residential programs, community service organizations, etc.), find the appropriate matches and deliver the clothing. We set-up "pop-up" stores in underserved areas. All our donations are carefully sorted and stored until needed.  All our clothing is redistributed free of charge.  

Our goal is to serve our neighbors and reduce the amount of perfectly good clothing  going to landfills.