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Women give back to homeless in Loudoun
Homeless women all over Northern Virginia have a new resource for clothing, accessories and business attire.
Thanks to the Women Giving Back store, women from homeless shelters in Loudoun and neighboring counties can get free clothing for themselves and their children.
“We just decided this was something we all needed to do,” said Fiona Hughes, one of the founding members of the Women Giving Back store. “We started collecting clothes and we got the word out. Now it's becoming really popular.”
Women Giving Back was founded in January by a group of women involved with HomeAid Northern Virginia, the nonprofit arm of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association.
The store is at 3901 Centerview Drive in Chantilly -- currently housed in a corporate board room -- and is open the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
During its opening day in January, the store served about 60 women and gave away more than 500 donated items, Hughes said.
Now the store is starting to get regulars. In fact, around 8 a.m. April 12, two hours before opening, women were already waiting to come inside to shop.
In March, the store had more than 80 women come to the store and gave away more than 1,600 items of clothing and accessories.
“The ladies get so excited,” Hughes said. “One group told us they actually went back to the shelter and had a fashion show with all the clothes they had picked out.”
Homeless women from all over the area get new clothes, all at no cost.
“Now I don't have to buy clothes,” said Vanessa, a customer from Manassas. “I'm looking for clothes that are business casual.”
Vanessa said she has a job in customer service and needs to dress professionally. The free clothing allows her to save money, she said, and the store is full of great items like a pair of black leather boots she tried on.
“There is a lot of good stuff here,” she said. “You just have to take the time to look.”
Another shopper, Debra, said she lost everything she owned in a fire just before Christmas.
She too was looking for business attire so she could go out and find a job.
“I think it's great. It's wonderful,” she said, thumbing through dresses and suits hanging inside the store. “How many places do you know that give away free stuff?”
Maggie Johnston, director of HomeAid Nothern Virginia, said the women appreciate the store, and she's received many phone calls and e-mails from them thanking her.
“We don't know of any other service like this,” she said. “It's an amazing thing, and it's led to some beautiful stories.”
Johnston told the story of one woman who came to the store when it first opened in January looking for professional clothing she could wear to work.
She had been living in a homeless shelter, but with the new clothes, she was able to find a job and now has a place of her own. Recently, she donated those same clothes back to the store so they could help another woman in need.
“This place creates tremendous goodwill,” Johnston said. “How gracious for her to think to give back.”
Johnston said the store is looking for a more permanent location and hopes to eventually be open five days a week.
Clothing donations and volunteers are also always needed. For more information, contact Maggie Johnston at mjohnston@nvbia.com.
Contact the reporter at ecoe@timespapers.com
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