The line stretched around the entrance to the Portuguese Hall, 2818 Avenida de Portugal, in Point Loma on June 1, as close to 200 local girls and their parents waited in anticipation of a little retail therapy ” all free of charge. San Diego nonprofit organization My Girlfriend’s Closet invited financially disadvantaged girls to raid its closet, so to speak, in search of clothing that fits their own individualized style at its two-hour distribution event.
Founded in 2005, My Girlfriend’s Closet is made up of a group of local mothers and daughters who collect, sort and distribute gently used, fashionable clothing, shoes and accessories in a store-like environment for girls in need, according to founder Barbara Greiert.
“We try and get it organized to look a little like a boutique for them, instead of looking like a garage sale,” Greiert said.
Volunteers, clad in pink shirts bearing the organization’s logo, manicured piles of folded pairs of designer jeans and racks of youthful clothing, which spread throughout the main floor of the hall. Gentle lighting and twinkling holiday lights and balloons were strewn about, giving the feel of a clothing boutique.
According to www.mygirlfriendscloset.info, “The founders knew that most teen girls in well-to-do families have plenty of stylish clothing to wear. They also love to explore each other’s closets and lend and borrow clothes. Often they find themselves with considerable quantities of barely used clothing that either no longer fits or that they no longer wear.”
Greiert said she and her daughter, Lara, a sophomore in high school at the time, came up with the concept for My Girlfriend’s Closet based on a similar concept that Greiert and her son had worked on years prior, collecting used sports equipment and distributing it to needy kids who wanted to play a sport.
“It [the sports equipment] seemed like a waste to have all this good-quality stuff sitting in people’s basements,” she said. “So when my daughter was a sophomore, we just kind of thought of the same concept.”
Greiert said it was through brainstorming their common interests that gave them the idea for the organization.
“OK, you [Lara] love fashion. You love clothes. Why don’t we collect clothing and offer it to girls in need?” she asked Lara at the time. “We made it a group effort by involving a team of moms and daughters.”
As for how it reaches local girls in need, Greiert said organizers count on local social service programs to get the word out.
“We have a list of about 40 different organizations in need,” Greiert said.
She said that, in addition to helping girls in need, she hopes to use the organization to educate and create empathy on the part of the high school girl volunteers.
“We made sure that the girls actually have board director positions with their moms,” she said. “So they helped to make some of the decisions on how the organization was to be run.”
La Jolla High School Junior Heather Knowles is the communications board member and volunteer coordinator for My Girfriend’s Closet.
“It’s a really good cause. Just being able to give other girls the opportunity to dress in stylish clothes that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford is rewarding,” she said.
Knowles added that the girls she meets at the events make the labor worth all the trouble.
“They’re appreciative,” said Knowles. “They like going through the clothes to see what we have. It makes you feel like you can make a difference in someone else’s life.”
Greiert explained that, since its first distribution event, the word has spread and more people have attended.
“Our very first event, only 12 people showed up in 2005,” she said. “Now, a line starts forming two hours before the event opens.”
Greiert said girls are invited by organizations that feel they would benefit from attending the distribution event.
“When the girls arrive at the location, we don’t ask for any identification whatsoever,” she said. “If the girls come here, we just assume they’ve been qualified as needy through that organization [which coordinated the connection].”
The organization relies on the help and goodwill of moms and daughters across San Diego and is always looking for volunteers and donations, according to Greiert.
For more information, call (619) 884-0844, or visit www.mygirlfriendscloset.info.