SignOnSanDiego Interview, Thursday, December 31, 2009
The nonprofit My Girlfriend’s Closet has donated thousands of gently used outfits to girls in homeless shelters and foster care programs across the county since the group was formed nearly five years ago. Donations come from service organizations, sororities and individuals, many of whom raid their own closets for outfits they no longer want but think someone else might. Not just any clothes get passed on. The high school girls involved in the program — mostly from upscale neighborhoods — screen each donated pair of pants, skirts, shoes, sweaters and jackets. We recently asked high school student Nikki Ouellette, one of the teens originally active in the group, about the nonprofit.
QUESTION: How did you get involved in My Girlfriend’s Closet?
ANSWER: When I was in seventh grade, I went with my mother to a meeting with eight other mother/daughter teams who wanted to do something together to give back to the community. We created the idea for a nonprofit called My Girlfriend’s Closet because we felt that there was a need for used clothing, since many of us were teenagers and knew we had lots of clothing in our closets which we could donate. We came up with a name, designed a logo and began collecting clothing to donate to foster and homeless teenage girls.
QUESTION: What are the biggest challenges?
ANSWER: The biggest challenge we face is funding the storage area for the clothing. When we started My Girlfriend’s Closet, we stored the clothing in a garage. Some of the challenges we faced in the beginning were finding locations for sorting the used clothes we collect and a hall big enough to have our distribution events throughout the year. Since we are a volunteer organization, we raise money to cover our expenses through grants and private donations.
QUESTION: Can you detail the last event? Any events coming up?
ANSWER: The last distribution event was in September. Four hundred and twenty four girls attended the shopping event, a record for My Girlfriend’s Closet. Each girl gets to pack two large shopping bags of clothing, shoes or accessories — so they leave with a lot of clothing!
Our next sorting event is Jan. 17. We bring all the clothing that we have collected and with a group of volunteers (about 115 girls and moms) we sort through the clothing, putting it in sizes — small, medium and large — and separating the shoes and accessories. We also separate smaller clothing that we call “little sisters” clothing and we donate those clothes to another organization. Our next distribution event, which is only open to girls invited through social service organizations in San Diego County, is Feb. 20.
QUESTION: How many people are involved?
ANSWER: My Girlfriend’s Closet is operated entirely by volunteers — 16 board members and a volunteer list of more than 200.
QUESTION: How many clothes have been given away since My Girlfriend’s Closet began?
ANSWER: Since 2005, we have given away a ton of clothing. Each year we have three distribution events and each one grows. Our first distribution event we served 15 girls. Now, with over 400 girls attending each event, I would think we have given away many thousands of shirts, sweaters, jeans, pants, jackets, dresses, shorts, shoes and accessories.
