On Meet Houston Missions and The Simmons and Fletcher Local Missions Podcast, your host, Paul Cannon, talks with Melinda Stephenson, the executive director of Clothed by Faith. Clothed by Faith started in 2013 when founder Abigale Fourie felt a calling to help citizens in Katy who did not have adequate clothing. The mission began in the founder’s garage, where she had bags of clothing donated from a local ministry, and has since expanded to include two storehouse locations that serve 22 districts across the greater Houston area. Clothed by Faith is based out of Katy, Texas, and Deer Park, Texas, and serves the greater Houston area by providing a week’s worth of clothing, shoes, socks, and underwear to those in need. The mission strives not only to provide clothing but also to dignify and empower individuals by providing quality clothing as a tangible demonstration of God’s love. They are always looking for volunteers to get involved in helping those in need receive the clothing necessary to turn their lives around. Clothed by Faith provides new and gently used clothes via an online request portal to individuals, other missions, schools, and agencies who express a need for clothing.
Clothed by Faith Services
One of the services Clothed by Faith provides is an online request form. When an individual or an organization sends in an online request for clothing, Clothed by Faith has volunteers go through their clothing warehouse and select a week’s worth of outfits for the people in need. The clothing packages include 5 bottoms, 7 to 10 tops, a few dresses for girls, jackets and hoodies, shoes, socks, underwear, and accessories to ensure recipients do not have to worry about buying clothing to fit their needs. Using the online request form, individuals or organizations can place generic requests or detailed requests for specific materials of clothing, certain colors, and particular styles to match what they need. There are no qualifications to receive clothing; however, individuals may only request clothes from Clothed by Faith once every six months unless there is an emergency.
Another service Clothed by Faith provides is their Closets for Schools. Closets for Schools focuses on providing clothing to students whose families cannot afford to clothe their children suitable for school. Clothing closets provide an onsite resource for students who may not have clothes that fit into the school’s dress code or requirements so that they do not have to miss instructional and valuable class time due to being out of dress code. When students use the clothing closet, they typically receive four tops and two bottoms that fit within the school’s dress code. Currently, Clothed by Faith has 20 closets located in various public and private schools in Houston and surrounding areas, and they are working on adding two more.
Volunteer Needs
Clothed by Faith only has 11 regular employees, so they rely heavily on volunteers from the community to help sort through donations, pick up laundry to wash, shop for the weeks’ worth of outfits, repackage the outfits, and deliver clothes to schools to add to the clothing closets. Clothed by Faith accepts volunteers aged 14 and up, so it is a great place to look into if you are a high school or college student who needs volunteer hours for a club; however, 14- and 15-year-olds must have an adult present with them in order to work at the warehouse. Volunteers typically work in two-hour shifts at one of the warehouses from 10 to 12, 12 to 2, or 2 to 4. Students who do not want to work in the warehouse can also volunteer by holding clothing drives in their community and bringing donations to one of the warehouses. If you are interested in volunteering, you can go to the Clothed by Faith website, click on Get Involved, and select a time and place to volunteer.
Donations
If you want to help the mission but do not have enough time to volunteer, there are several ways to donate. If you have gently used or new clothes that you wish to donate, you can deliver them to one of the two warehouses. There are also two other donation bin spots at Grace Presbyterian Church, 10221 Ella Lee Ln., and First Baptist Church, 202 East Heritage Dr. At the Katy branch; donations can be brought to the right side of the building where there are donation bins. At the Deer Park branch, donations can be brought to the back, where you will see donation bins. If you arrive at either branch within working hours, there will be people to help unload your vehicle, and if you come outside of working hours, you can place your items in the donation bins. The best way to bring in donations is to place the items in a kitchen-size trash bag and label the outside with the size, gender, and type of clothing that is in the bag. If you do not have any clothes to donate but still wish to help, you can visit the Clothed by Faith website to make a cash donation or buy items listed on their Amazon Wishlist or Walmart Spark Good Registry.
Locations and Contact Information
Clothed by Faith has two main warehouse locations where you can donate and volunteer. The Katy warehouse is located at 802 Dominion Dr. across from the Kingsland Church, and the Deer Park warehouse is located at 438 East 8th St. in the gymnasium.
The website is Clothed By Faith. On the site, you can find more information on how to donate and how to sign up for volunteer opportunities. You are also welcome to call them at (281) 676-8837 or email them at info@clothedbyfaith.org and volunteer@clothedbyfaith.org for volunteer information.
Clothed by Faith is a 501©(3) non-profit organization. All donations made are tax deductible as per the IRS guidelines.
Meet Houston Missions and The Simmons and Fletcher Local Missions Podcast is presented by Simmons and Fletcher, P.C. Injury & Accident Lawyers. Paul H. Cannon is a managing partner in the firm.
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