by Elizabeth Darling
One day, a mother came in who had eight children, none of whom owned a coat. Another day, an older couple with children who had been through the Palo Alto schools came in after declaring bankruptcy and being evicted from their home. They all found help at the Wardrobe, a clothing clearinghouse which, since 1955, has been run by the Palo Alto PTA.
Located in a portable building tucked between JLS Middle School and Fairmeadow Elementary School, the Wardrobe supplies free clothing--from infant rompers to adult-sized sweaters and pants--to those who need it, mostly families with children in the Palo Alto schools. No one who needs clothes will be turned away. All the Wardrobe asks is that families limit their visits to one every two months.
"Most of the families that we get are . . . living here in Palo Alto and it's really tough to stretch the dollar," said Karen Froniewski, a parent volunteer who runs the program.
"At first when people come, they're a little afraid," she said. "We try to make them feel welcome. We don't like to turn anybody away."
In September, as children returned to school, the Wardrobe supplied 124 children with clothing. Parents trickle in throughout the open hours, which are Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. They try on clothes in the makeshift dressing rooms and search for everything from shirts to dresses to winter coats.
To raise money for its services, the Wardrobe also rents out ski clothing for a nominal fee during the winter months. The cost is $20 per family for up to two weeks, or $5 for a single child.
All the schools in the district hold clothing drives during a particular month of the school year and donate what they get to the Wardrobe. Also, at the end of each school year, clothing in the lost and found box at each school is donated to the program. Last year, Froniewski said, she had a pile of formerly lost-and-found clothing that was seven feet high and reached the ceiling. "I had Nike Air sneakers, I had Shark starter jackets, I had very nice things," she said.
It is not uncommon to find Baby Oshkosh overalls, London Fog coats or Gap sweaters in the neatly stacked piles of clothes, which are grouped by gender and size.
In the 18 months since she has been running the Wardrobe, with help from several volunteers, Froniewski has managed to have the program's newsletter translated into Spanish, and she has distributed information to each school. She has also started a sort of clothing delivery service.
"If families can't come to us, they can fill out an order form. We'll fill an order and send it back to the school," she said. But it helps a lot if people can come to Wardrobe themselves and pick out the clothes they like, she said.
Froniewski has applied to Christmas in April for some renovations, including a ramp to the back door for disabled clients, some windows that actually open and an outdoor drop box. She also hopes to extend the Wednesday hours to 7 p.m.
Donations are always welcome, Froniewski said, and at least once a week she arrives home from work to find a bag of clothing on her doorstep. Coats, jackets and pants, Froniewski said, are always in short supply. A grant awarded to the program last year purchased new underwear, but that is a commodity which is always needed as well, along with new socks and money for gift certificates, when families don't find the types or sizes they need and can be given vouchers to local stores such as Target.
Large-size clothing is also in demand, as well as sweat pants, backpacks, sports equipment, soccer shoes and even books and toys, along with infant supplies such as baby baths or car seats. For more information or to make a donation, call the Wardrobe office at 858-0654.
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