Sharing Clothes with the Community
Local families come together once again to trade hand-me-downs and build community as part of the annual spring kids and maternity clothing swap.
By Anna Gilmore
For The Hinesburg Record
Two dozen tables holding clothes of different colors, sizes, and styles lined the Parish Hall in The United Church on Saturday morning, April 4. It was showtime for the annual Kids and Maternity Clothing Swap hosted by the Hinesburg Community Resource Center (HCRC) Friends of Families Program.
The event welcomed over 70 Hinesburg locals and residents of neighboring towns, mostly mothers who pulled their small children in tow around the crowded room as they browsed the aisles and helped them try on potential new favorites.
The room filled with the sound of lively conversation and small voices as shoppers connected with some new and some familiar faces. Older kids went off on their own to dig through once-loved items of their classmates and neighbors, eager to give them a new home.
“People are lined up at the door before we open and they come through pretty quickly. The first half hour is people everywhere and then it gets quieter toward the end,” said Alexandra Koncewicz, coordinator of the Friends of Families Program.
The rows of clothes-filled tables were all organized by gender, age, and style, and visitors were welcome to whatever and however much they needed without paying a dime. Some left with hampers full of clothes while others left with only a single item.
“It’s so helpful because you feel like you’re giving your clothes to another person instead of it just going into the abyss somewhere,” said Shannon Wheeler, a volunteer of the program for the past few years. “So I always bring a couple bags, it helps us clean out. And then I have a bag filled already here,”
Donations were accepted before the event at the Parish Hall and Carpenter-Carse Library in Hinesburg. The First Roots Wild Roots Preschool in town also donated clothing from their students. Twenty-four volunteers spent Friday, the day before the event, taking shifts sorting through everything to prepare it for the swap.
“A lot of people use it to switch over their wardrobe,” Wheeler said. “The coolest thing is when we’re here the night before sorting and people see their clothes that they’ve donated coming back.”
Volunteers spent their time at the swap organizing clothes, helping people find what they needed and getting to know shoppers.
“It’s a pretty big hit for the community. We just started maternity clothes last year which is so nice because those you wear for such a short amount of time,” added Anna Main, the executive director of the Hinesburg Community Resource Center, which includes programs such as the Hinesburg Food Shelf and Emergency Financial Assistance.
“It’s such a great organization, I feel like it does so much for the community,” Main said. “And we try to connect people with other resources if we can’t help them, which is a huge piece because everybody needs help.”
All clothes that were left over after the swap were donated to either Twice Is Nice, a women’s thrift store in Hinesburg (and another HCRC program), the proceeds of which benefit the community center; or other various nonprofits that support children who are in foster homes or struggling with their living situation. Main emphasized the significance of recycling once well-loved items to events like these or donation boxes around town to minimize what ends up in landfills.
“This is really great. We moved to Shelburne recently and just saw the sign they had out front and decided to stop by and I’m really happy we did. We’ll definitely be coming back, and I’ll have to start bringing stuff to donate next time,” said Mae Sheridan as she helped her young daughter into the car with a small pile of new colorful clothes. “She’s really excited about her new polka-dot dress.”
Inside, the piles grew smaller and smaller as mothers filled their baskets and totes with items.
“I’m looking for stuff for my three-year-old son today, and I feel like there’s a pretty great selection. It’s just a great way to clear out your kid’s wardrobe a couple times a year and stop things from stacking up,” said Elizabeth Dray as she sorted through a pile of T-shirts.
The event is a biannual tradition with the other swap held every fall including an additional section of children’s Halloween costumes. The Friends of Families Program will also hold a Toy & Book Swap from 10 to 11 a.m. on May 9 at the Carpenter-Carse Library. Friends of Families also run a play group from 10 to 11 a.m. every Thursday in the Parish Hall where the swap took place.
The program is looking forward to collaborating with the library this June for the annual baby picnic as well, to welcome all the babies that were born in Hinesburg the previous year. It’s a cherished tradition in town that every baby gets a picture book dedicated to them at the library.
“My kids, when they got their books, they would give them to their grandparents,” Main said. “It was the perfect Mother’s Day gift for grandma. And then they’d go and search for them in the library whenever they’d go, it’s really sweet.”
Saturday’s swap served as the perfect place to get some old clothes off your hands, find some new things and gain some new friends.
“It’s just so nice to reuse,” said Main. “I feel like I always go home with a little something or a lot depending on what age my kids have been.”
Editor’s note: This piece comes via Community News Service, a University of Vermont internship with The Hinesburg Record