As a small business we value our community before anything else, and think it is important to give back. At the end of summer 2020 we donated both women’s and men’s clothing & accessories to Clothes To Kids to help the youth of our surrounding community have appropriate attire while gaining self confidence through style and experiences.
Jode Frisbie Eye and Marie Bouchard McClung created Clothes to Kids, Inc. out of their passion for helping children in need. They began collecting items in 2002 and opened the doors to their first Clothes To Kids store on June 11, 2003 in Dunedin, Florida. It began with a 1,200 square foot shopping space that allows school age kids to come and shop for clothing in a department store environment.
Quickly outgrowing their space they moved to Clearwater in 2005 and welcomed their second shop in 2009 located in St. Petersburg, Florida. Their goal has always been to impact the lives of children in need with quality product while in a fun shopping environment free of charge. Following their passion to impact more families they went on to open a location in Tampa, FL in 2018. To date, Clothes To Kids, Inc. has distributed more than 157,000 wardrobes to kids within our community.
Below are the requirements to partake in shopping at Clothes To Kids.
- You must live in Pinellas or Hillsborough County
- Your child must be school-aged and eligible for free or reduced-price lunch through Pinellas or Hillsborough County schools.
OR - You must receive referral from an approved agency.
- Social worker or case worker employed at local social service agency
- School teacher, school administrator, guidance counselor or social worker
- Pastor, priest or rabbi from your place of worship
- Your child must be school-aged and eligible for free or reduced-price lunch through Pinellas or Hillsborough County schools.
Book an appointment. All shopping at Clothes To Kids is by appointment only. To make an appointment call (727) 441-5050.
At Clothes To Kids all clothing & shoe donations are used in some way:
- A Clothes To Kids wardrobe is free to shoppers.
- Clothes To Kids does not pass along any of their donations to other organizations.
- If donated items must be discarded due to condition or appropriateness the funds received from their textile recycler go towards purchase of new socks or underwear.
- Any clothing items not suitable for school yet in good condition are made available to the family members of the shoppers on the day of their appointment.
Want to get involved? Below is multiple ways that you can help out too!
- You can buy a wardrobe for a child. $50 will provide one child with a week’s worth of school clothes. Click here buy a child a wardrobe
- Donate items to Clothes To Kids.
Items they need:- Kids Clothes (size 4 – 16)
- Adult size clothes (think pre-teen & teens)
- Shoes (children’s size 9 to adult)
- Bras, belts purses, hats, jewelry, & backpacks
- NEW socks & underwear
Click here to learn about drop off locations and needed items
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Adult Volunteer Options:
- Shopping Services – be a greeter, a floor associate, help with shopping and more.
- Back-to-School Shopping Bags Support – carefully curate back-to-school shopping bags based on submitted request forms.
- Administrative Support – answer phones, set appointments, data entry, filing & more.
- Backroom Roles – sort and tag clothes, restock the store, do mending, laundry and more.
- Outside the store – Go shopping, pickup donations, organize clothing drives, attend community events, and spread the word.
- Adult Volunteer Options:
- Youth Volunteer Opportunities
- Must be in grades 9 – 12
- A fun and rewarding volunteer opportunity to earn volunteer hours. Clothes To Kids is on the approved list for Pinellas County Schools Learning Services hours for Bright Futures.
Fill out a Youth Volunteer Application here
Download the Volunteer handbook here
Donations can be dropped off at any of the store locations listed below from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. For convenience there ia also a clothing bin available at each store for after hours donations. Please do not leave clothing outside bin area.
Tampa Store: 5011-H West Hillsborough Ave, Tampa, FL 33634
St. Pete Store: 2168 34th Street, South, St. Petersburg, FL 33711
Clearwater Store: 1059 North Hercules Ave, Clearwater, FL 33765
To find out more about Clothes To Kids click here.
We are proud to share information on how to support kids within our community and look forward to continuing to invest into our community. Thanks for reading, we challenge you to share this post to 3 friends so that we can make an even larger impact!
STAY SANDY!