Clothing Exchange Reopens

After surviving four floods and being closed for nearly nine months, the Children’s Closing Exchange is reopening in its original location at 56 Magazine Street. Located in the basement of Grace United Methodist Church on the corner of Perry Street and Magazine, visitors are once again greeted with gaily-painted wall murals, shelves of pastel-colored sneakers, and racks of barely worn party dresses. Harvard students as well as other community volunteers have been working hard sorting clothing, refinishing furniture, and cleaning out a space that has been ravaged by the elements.

On Wednesday, September 8th I had a chance to sit down with Sonya Darcy, manager of the Clothing Exchange. Sonya exclaimed that ever since the phone had been connected a few days earlier, there have been at least 50 or 60 phone calls. People have clearly missed this valuable community service. Not only have parents been able to find clothing for their children from newborns to sixteen year-olds, but also mothers have chosen outfits they can wear to job interviews. Baby equipment, toys, and books are available too. A memo board provides an easy way for people to display any announcements or events they want to publicize. Families from throughout New England travel to the Clothing Exchange, as the merchandise is free and known to be in excellent condition. Customers are encouraged to either trade their good quality items for other good quality items or to volunteer their time. Many mothers have used this venue to meet other young women.

This bustling center of community activity has been part of Solutions at Work, a Cambridge-based organization that transitions adults out of homelessness to work and stability. Founded in 1989 by a group of formerly homeless people led by Macy DeLong, Solutions has helped thousands of people move into permanent housing, learn job skills, and how to budget their expenses. The Clothing Exchange has been one of Solutions’ original service areas and Sonya has been manager for many years. As she explained to me, Solutions has helped her secure a regular job while juggling her child care needs. Sonya, in turn, has created both a carefully organized business and a valuable meeting place for parents.

Sonya would like the public to know that after its grand reopening on September 11th, the Children’s Clothing Exchange will be open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Clean, ready-to-wear clothing for children from infants to teenagers as well as items for women to wear in the workplace are welcome for donations. Baby equipment such as car seats, carriages and strollers are needed. Books and toys are great not just for taking home, but also for occupying kids while their parents shop.

Prospective volunteers can phone: 617-576-0039 and ask for the manager.
Sonya’s wish list is as follows:
New winter hats
New socks
New kids’ underwear
New arts and crafts materials
Of course, financial support in any amount is helpful.

Back to school

I remember several years ago when I first dropped my daughter off at the overnight camp bus. I wore large sunglasses to camouflage the tears that were certain to pour down my face. Imagine my surprise when the bus pulled away, and moms and dads began to applaud, cheer, and actually skip to their cars. I was amazed. Certainly I've always yearned for adult time with my husband, wanted to stand in the doorway and gaze at a teenager's bedroom that could double for a "pottery barn" ad. You know what I mean: pressed sheets pulled tight, comforter spread nicely on top of the mattress, pillows plumped in their shams, coordinating shades drawn just so, books lined up carefully on shelves, dirty clothes in the hamper, CD's arranged in their towering holder. The truth is far from this scene. In reality, wet towels are tossed over the floor, sweaty t-shirts lie in heaps, as books, papers and discs rest here and there. The bed is definitely rarely made and the shades hang at crooked, almost jaunty angles. As I pulled onto my son's college campus last weekend, I felt like I was part of a wagon train. Station wagons and SUV's were filled to overflowing with music systems, book shelves, computers, duffles, bikes, and bedding. Every once in awhile I would see a mom or a dad stranded on a street corner, sitting on top of a pile of blankets and throw pillows. Perhaps the vehicle had already been unloaded, parked, and the move of all the stuff needing to go into that tiny dorm room was in process. I've had lots of seasons of moving kids here and there, but this passage, the one in September when summer ends and we're rolling into fall, always seems bittersweet. Yes, he is where he should be and I do need stretches of quiet time in my study to discipline myself to focus and write. But that quiet is so palpable. No other cell phone is ringing, no other music is playing, and no extra car keys are strewn across the kitchen counter. His bedroom looks like the shrine of a high school boy and yes, it does finally look like it could be a page out of a catalogue.