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 began in 2013, when founder Abigale Fourie felt called to help citizens in Katy who lacked adequate clothing. The mission began in the founder’s garage, where she stored bags of clothing donated by a local ministry, and has since expanded to two storehouse locations serving 22 districts across the greater Houston area. Clothed by Faith is based in 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 help those in need receive the clothing needed 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 Clothed by Faith’s services is an online request form. When an individual or organization submits an online request for clothing, Clothed by Faith volunteers go through their clothing warehouse and select a week’s worth of outfits for people in need. The clothing packages include five bottoms, seven to ten tops, a few dresses for girls, jackets and hoodies, shoes, socks, underwear, and accessories, so recipients don’t have to worry about buying clothing to fit their needs. Using the online request form, individuals or organizations can submit general requests or detailed requests for specific clothing items, colors, and styles to match their needs. 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 in clothing suitable for school. Clothing closets provide an on-site resource for students who may not have clothes that fit the school’s dress code or requirements, so they do not miss instructional time because they are 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 has only 11 regular employees, so they rely heavily on community volunteers to sort donations, pick up laundry to wash, shop for the week’s worth of outfits, repackage 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 option 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 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, visit the Clothed by Faith website, click Get Involved, and select a time and place to volunteer.
Donations
If you want to support the mission but don’t have time to volunteer, you can donate in several ways. If you have gently used or new clothes to donate, you can deliver them to one of the two warehouses. There are also two other donation bin locations at Grace Presbyterian Church, 10221 Ella Lee Ln., and First Baptist Church, 202 East Heritage Dr. At the Katy branch, you can bring donations to the right side of the building, where donation bins are located. At the Deer Park branch, you can bring donations to the back, where you will see donation bins. If you arrive at either branch during working hours, staff will help unload your vehicle; if you come outside 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 don’t have clothes to donate but still want to help, you can visit the Clothed by Faith website to make a cash donation or buy items from 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 at 802 Dominion Dr., across from Kingsland Church, and the Deer Park warehouse is at 438 East 8th St. in the gymnasium.
The website is Clothed By Faith. On the site, you can find more information on donating and signing up for volunteer opportunities. You can also call them at (281) 676-8837 or email them at [email protected] or [email protected] 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. Paul H. Cannon is a managing partner in the firm.
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