AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Colorful Closets has reached a massive milestone, providing more than 500 wardrobes to children in the Amarillo area so far this school year.
Lindsey Wing and Keely Brown, the co-executive directors of Colorful Closets, said as of Monday, they had given 522 wardrobes to kids.
“We do 10 tops and five bottoms in every wardrobe. So if you do the math, that’s so many tops, and so many bottoms,” said Wing.
Wing said she and Brown started the organization back in 2016 when they were only giving out wardrobes to about six kids each week.
“Now, back to school week for us is anywhere from 60 to 120 orders a day. So the growth is crazy. They’re getting to know us. We’re now in four plus school districts. We do our surrounding area. We also get to help serve organizations like Region 16, Family Support Services.”
According to Brown, they’re seeing a 36-39% percent increase in demand this year. They think it is likely a combination of counselors being more familiar with their operation and getting help to more students, as well as the economy.
“We made a promise to our counselors in the very beginning and to the school districts of Amarillo and Canyon that we would clothe kiddos until we run out of clothes. We’ll just do what we can until we just can’t do it anymore and it’s crazy to be at this point where shelves are empty. Hangers are empty. It’s, it’s crazy,” said Brown. “We’re doing it we’re figuring it out but we’ve never seen it this heavy, the need this heavy.”
Right now, Brown said they need clothing donations of all sizes, for infants through seniors in high school. They also need warmer clothing for the winter.
“We clothe kids for the casual comfortable school day. Stylish, dignity is a big thing for us. We don’t want to put another layer of rejection on them. We do not have the mindset of, ‘If they have nothing, they’ll take anything,’” Brown said. “We really set the bar high for the students that we clothe.”
They encourage people to go through their excess clothing and donate any tenderly used or new items, that are age-appropriate. Wing said donations can be dropped off at U.S. Cleaners locations in Amarillo and Canyon.
“We want them to open that bag and be excited about what’s in there. They’re not wearing grandma’s old sweater vest, you know, they, they’re going to get clothes that are going to help with their confidence,” Wing added.
Colorful Closets is hosting its main fundraiser, Be the Thread of Change, on Saturday, November 4th at 5:30 p.m. at Arts in the Sunset.
“We have about 45 models this year and they’re going to walk the runway on behalf of the closet. They’re all in closet clothes, and Wade Gordon Hair Academy styles all of them backstage and they’re in fabulous hair and makeup and {there’s} such an energy,” Brown continued. “It’s a great way to show our donors that we are a stylish closet and we’re excited about clothing these kids and we’d love to show that off.”
Click here to purchase tickets.
For the latest Amarillo news and regional updates, check with MyHighPlains.com and tune in to KAMR Local 4 News at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00 p.m. and Fox 14 News at 9:00 p.m. CST.