The clothing drive is the school’s annual effort to repurpose old, outgrown clothes as donations to people in need. The drive, headed by co-chairs senior Arnav Lahoti and sophomore Reagan Graeme, aims to provide non-profit beneficiary organizations across the Dallas Metroplex with the clothing they need, but might not have.
Last year’s yield of donated clothes was a record for the program— the school put together bags upon bags of donations, weighing in at 5,700 pounds.
Coming into this year, the co-chairs knew it was going to be difficult to match those numbers, especially with a holiday cutting their time short. But they pulled through, finishing the drive with 3,764 pounds of clothes, the clothing alone weighing more than many family sedans.
“It was hard to move around in the Nearburg waiting room because of how filled it was with clothes,” Graeme said.
Each piece of clothing will be donated to one of three beneficiaries this year— nonprofits St. Vincent de Paul, North Dallas Shared Ministries and Genesis Women’s Shelter and Support. Each of these organizations provides the clothing and daily necessities crucial for those in need, setting up thrift stores whose proceeds go directly back to the clothing. Genesis aims specifically to support women and children who have suffered through domestic violence.
Sam Daniels ‘15 works at the shelter in Corporate and Foundation Relations. He hopes to impact the Dallas community in a way the school taught him: through empathy and compassion.
“With the way domestic violence works, the women we serve have been deprived of having choices or agency or autonomy over their own funds, even if they work,” Daniels said. “They may have fled quite literally with only the clothes on their backs. [Your donations] are really empowering to them and make them feel appreciated in a much more real way, and lets them rebuild their lives.”
And because the shelter does not accept government funding, the resources the clothing drive provides are much more impactful. Every donation counts towards the shelter’s ability to provide people with clothing without overspending.
To Graeme, this year’s drive was a success. However, it’s not just the numbers that give him this sense of accomplishment— instead, it’s his bond with the community. Often a volunteer at the Genesis shelter, Graeme sees in person the difference a few clothes can make in a person’s life.
“There’s some kids [at the shelter] that, despite their rough circumstances, are just so joyful and happy and have the biggest and brightest smiles,” Graeme said. “And it really warms your heart knowing that these kids that you go to play basketball, tag and other stuff with are happy. This was a big reason that I wanted to be a co-chair for this clothing drive, because like I’ve been with those people. It’s just so important. seeing the smiles on their faces.”
