Denver Home Living Huettner Capital Winter 2017/18 | Page 29

languages and cultures. Clothes To Kids reflects that
diversity, catering to a wide range of families, many facing
extremely difficult circumstances. There are ten counties
in the Denver metropolitan area, and all are served by
Clothes To Kids. About half of its clients currently are
Spanish speaking. The remainder consist of populations
facing a host of challenges, including asylum seekers, recent
immigrants, and long-term descendants of poverty.
month, along with 80 youth volunteers who are fulfilling their
s chool’s community service requirements. “We love having kids
on-site to make sure the clothes we are offering are in sync with
fashion trends for all different age groups,” she says. “Students
also help by organizing clothing drives at their school[s].”
Jadwin cautions that there are sharp differences in the
missions of organizations in the clothing collection business.
“While there have been brightly colored clothing donation
bins springing up nearly everywhere over the past few years,
most are part of profit-making enterprises and [much]
of their used clothing is directed overseas,” she says.
When a child enters Clothes To Kids, he or she will encounter
a shopping experience not too different from any other
clothing boutique—just without any price tags or registers.
Fashionable clothes, clean and unwrinkled, hang from racks
or are folded neatly in stacks and placed on tables. Volunteer
salespeople are eager to help, steering clients in the right
direction, perhaps into fitting rooms to try on their items.
The atmosphere in the 3,000-square-foot space is bright
and airy, and welcoming music plays in the background.
The dedication of Jadwin and her team has paid off in a big
way, with between 10% and 43% growth in the number of
students served each year since the organization opened its
doors in 2008. In 2016, the organization was able to serve
about 8,000 clients, but it realizes it’s still just a fraction of
the more than 200,000 students in need throughout the city.
Clothes To Kids’s leaders resolve to stick closely to its original
mission—to provide school clothes to kids in need—and
continue to seek ways to spread the word about its services
as well as promote donor and volunteer opportunities.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Clothes To Kids
depends on the support of both corporate and individual
donors, gladly accepting gently used clothing as well
as new clothing and financial contributions. It also has
several “apparel partners” who donate new items that are
considered seconds or overstocks. To raise funds, Clothes
To Kids holds a handful of small events throughout the
year, along with the annual Blue Jean Bash, a “casual gala”
that typically raises about one-half of the organization’s
annual operating funds. “Once people find us, they never
want to donate anywhere else,” says Jadwin. “It’s amazing
how far some people will travel to make their donations.”
There is also a large volunteer contingent overseen by Jadwin,
which includes 180 regular volunteers who serve at least once per
In recent years, additional Clothes To Kids boutiques have
begun to spring up in new locations, including North
Carolina, Rhode Island, and most recently, Connecticut.
Jadwin is thrilled to lend a hand with advice and tours of
the Denver location and hopes to see the concept pick up
even more momentum moving forward. “Florida helped us
get started and now we’re happy to do the same for others,”
she says. “The Tampa store is so large that it can feel a bit
intimidating. We’re proud to show people how much we can
accomplish here in Denver with just our little boutique.”
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