On the Hanger
Project Description
Two 16-year old girls from Los Angeles started a fun space in their community to shop for clothing at no cost to girls, teens, and women. This space stocks gently-worn clothing, donated by people in the community. This type of business is referred to as a gemach. Sometimes there are costs for items in a gemach but this one is free. There are a large range of gemachs from wedding dresses to baby outfits for a bris milah. There are gemachs for floral centerpieces and table linens, or for wheelchairs and other durable medical equipment.
How Did They Come Up With the Idea
Her Mom has a friend from Florida who started a gown gemach. Many Jewish communities have gemachs. In Los Angeles, there are existing gemach, and some charge for the merchandise. The girls wanted to help women clothe themselves and their families without any costs. The clothes include fun designs to appeal to teens and girls.
Why did they want to do this? What inspired you?
They were sitting around one day trying to think up an idea of how to help out in their community. They had a gut feeling that a gemach for everyday clothing would work. They immediately knew this was a beautiful thing to be a part of. They knew that spending time raising money for a space to rent was not how to spend their time so they approached their moms and one agreed to allocate space from their garage to house the gemach.
How Did It Get Started
They lost no time in moving their plan forward. After cleaning the garage, they solicited funds for clothing racks, hangars. They got the word out about needing clothing donations and boom, their gemach was born. Word spread through different channels, people really wanted to donate clothing, and the 'clients' began to come. The girls decided to have two options: people could make private appointments or they could come to a pop-up shop during busy seasons (right before Jewish holidays).
Did You Receive Any Assistance
This project initially took many of the girls' hours . After operating for one year, they reached the point where other high school girls volunteered to check the clothing for stains. They cleaned the clothing and the volunteers hung and folded the merchandis. Their parents helped somewhat with finances and they did some simple fundraising for specific items like clothing racks and covers. People knew exactly where their donations were going. People were happy to donate clothing. They also added pretty decor to spruce it up.
How old were they when you started it?
16 years old.
What did you learn?
They learned that they could take a project from the inception of an idea to completion. People they approached were happy to contribute and become part of this mitzvah.