Grant means clothes scheme won’t have to tighten its belt
Swap project was started a year ago by two volunteers
Friday, 4th October 2024 — By Isabel Loubser
Founders Lis Howell and Chanel Georgio with volunteers and attendees [Sarah Larby]
A COMMUNITY clothes swap project that has donated more than 900kg of clothes to local charities is gearing up to expand after winning a £5,000 grant from the North London Community Fund.
What began a year ago as two volunteers, Lis Howell and Chanel Georgio, wanting to make use of their local St Andrew’s Church, has rapidly turned into a Saturday morning staple for many locals.
The team accept and sort donations of clothes, books, and toys, and donate whatever is left over after the swap to charities including the Manna Project, Smart Works, Islington Refugee and Migrants, Choices, and Traid.
Ms Georgio said: “It has grown beyond our wildest dreams. We get some beautiful items donated and we have a special ‘pick of the week’ rail.”
Ms Howell agreed, adding: “We’ve even had a hotel chain that has been in touch and given us clothes that people have left in hotel rooms. We’ve had some amazing coats.”
Swap scheme clothes on the racks at St Andrew’s Church [Sarah Larby]
The operation has now become more professionalised, with the grant money being used to purchase racks on wheels, a washing machine, and even a steam cleaner.
The volunteers added that the washing machine was especially helpful for the swap’s “St Andrew’s undercover project”, where they ask for donations of new, or good-as-new, underwear which volunteers then wash.
“There are so many refugees in hostels where washing facilities are limited,” said Ms Howell. “So it’s nice to be able to provide them with clean and fresh underwear, which people would normally take for granted.”
Ms Georgio said that being a volunteer at the programme was “personally satisfying”. “You see people come in and they see something and their eyes just light up,” she said.
The two founders are now hoping to expand the sustainable project even further. “The dream would be to get someone from one of the fashion schools to come and rework the clothing,” said Ms Howell. “Other than that we just want to make sure that as many people as possible know about us. We have some lovely stuff, some very practical stuff – people just need to come in and have a very good browse.”
