Flip-side: Is there a particular garment you donated or gave to someone that brought you great joy?

I have one experience donating clothes that brings me great happiness. I have a new nanny who is great with my kids, hard working, and an all around great person. As I got to know her better, I learned that she and her husband were persecuted in Iran for being a part of a minority group and are in the US with refugee status. They have two kids and her husband has double kidney failure and can't work. So her income from working at a daycare and being a part-time nanny for me supports to whole family.

Needless to say, she doesn't have a lot to spend on clothes. Even though I purged a lot this year, I have been steadily giving her clothes. She is young, about my size and seems to really love clothes and fashion. I really enjoy seeing her in the clothes I gave her and I am always thinking of new things I can give her that she could put to better use than me. It really brings me great joy to give in this way as it is helping someone out AND I get to see her interest in fashion in action everyday.

Anyone else have stories about the joy of giving clothes away?

10 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

Oh, yes! When I went on vacation in the winter of 2012 I left a bunch of clothes behind, and here is the awesome story of where some of them ended up: http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....d-to-share

Suja, it's so great that you are able to share with your nanny!

Suz

(website)

How wonderful that you and your nanny are near the same size! It must be fun for her to get new things.

I love to give others pleasure with things that no longer work for me. Sometimes those people are YLF friends -- like Ms. Mary, in fact! She got a pair of orange Sloan pants.

Equally, I have been the beneficiary of much YLF generosity over the years. And wow, has it ever been amazing to enjoy these fab items.

I also love giving clothing to my step daughter. She is close to my size and does not make a lot of money. Her style is quite different than mine but occasionally I'll be able to pass along something that turns into a real hit for her. She wore a tunic dress I gave her to her brother's wedding last winter!

Suja

MsMary: That is a great story! Wow, wow, wow. Makes me wonder about how cool it would be if there were a way we could see our donated items in action, kind of like getting pictures from a sponsored child.

Suz: YLF exchanges are awesome. I have yet to participate but I love the idea. Great that your step-daughter used something you gave her as wedding attire. Probably saved her a bundle on a special occasion dress.

Bumping to see if there are any other inspirational giving stories out there

Melaine

Active Member

Well, there is a bit of back story to mine. My twin girls are almost 8 and since money is tight I have always spent a lot of time hunting down bargains so that they can still be cute and, up until recently, MATCHING. Even though I am a big thrifter, I bought a lot new so that they could be equally cute. I was really careful to resell their clothing on craigslist to fund the next season's purchases.
A couple years ago, I saw an ad on Earthcycle that a lady was looking for something for her twin granddaughters. Her son was estranged from the mother and she dropped them off with nothing but the clothes on their backs in the middle of the night. The girls and I got to work and went through EVERYTHING. We took a huge load of matching clothing, pajamas, bags, toys, puzzles. Because I shop deals, I was able to take brand new coats, underwear and socks. We gave them matching dolls and stuffed animals. It was really nice meeting the grandma and she was so grateful. It gave me so much joy to do something that I normally couldn't do financially and to know that it was making a difference for a family. I hope those things made life a little easier for them during that hard time.

Sharon

After my weight loss, followed by my surgery, almost nothing in my closet fitted me anymore, so I had some really beautiful clothes that I just couldn't wear. I was really sad about some of the pieces I especially loved. I gave them to my sister, who is a single mum, and my sister-in-law. They were both so excited to receive them, and when I went to a family wedding last week my SIL was wearing a dress I had given her. She looked great and got lots of compliments and I felt so happy that a dress that I loved (I bought it for my wedding anniversary a few years back) was being used and loved again.

Oh, these stories are bringing tears to my eyes! Thanks so much for sharing!!

Melaine- That is so great that you were able to help out the those little kids and the Grandma who was taking care of them. What a great gift for people who really need it.

Sharon- I love seeing people excited to receive my clothes and I seeing them in action.

MsMary- There is something about using fashion and clothes, a subject near and dear to my heart, to help people. I love helping people period but I get some extra joy when I can combine giving with my love of fashion.

ChaosIsAFriend

My husband and I are foster parents. Many kids come to their foster homes with only the clothes on their backs because they were taken from their biological parents home in an emergency situation and there was no time to pack anything or maybe there was nothing to pack anyway. I donate all of our unwanted clothing to a clothes closet run by my local foster parent support group. Foster parents can "shop" for clothes for their new placements so they don't have to go out and spend money on new clothes for them. Contrary to popular belief, most foster parents aren't in it for the money (not in my state anyway, they pay barely enough to cover the cost of feeding your foster kids!) and need all the help they can get. I feel good knowing that my fellow foster parents are getting some nice clothes for their placements to wear.

Thistle

I always give my mom and sister first choice of anything I am going to donate. Luck and hard work have allowed me to have a much larger clothes budget than they do, and we are all about the same size.

My sister was so relieved to not have to worry about scraping together a business casual wardrobe for a new job. She has had severe health issues combined with poor insurance. I will sometimes part with something I know she loves or needs as I can replace it and she can't.

Janet

My first stop for clothes and shoes I no longer want is my family. My nieces are the same height as me and fairly close in size, depending on the garment. My oldest niece told me the other day that the nicest things in her closet are from me. She's been a student for her whole life (now finishing her PhD), so it's a big help to her. My younger niece is a single mom working three jobs, with a 6yo son, so she can use all the help she can get as well.

JAileen

I give my things to a thrift shop I volunteer at. The Assistance League is a nationwide organization. Our thrift shop helps fund our various programs. We have a food pantry for low income seniors. We also provide clothes for school children from poor families. Recently we gave $50,000 to one of our local high schools to bring their technology up to the level of the newer schools. The district is unable to fund a project like this. We give grants to school teachers for their classrooms. A friend of mine got one of these grants a couple years ago. She was thrilled because she would have paid for her project out of her own pocket anyway, as many teachers do. We have several other programs. I am proud of what we do. Although my contributions are small, every little bit helps.

N-Marie

I had a similar situation- my nanny has a daughter graduating from high school and I handed down some business casual clothes that could be used for job interviews. I usually donate to Goodwill but it was nice to see the clothes being put to good use.
It's also fun to donate baby/toddler clothes to friends or family and then see them again on a different child - brings back fond memories of your own kid at that age!

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