This year’s annual clothing drive, organized by the co-chairs of Fashion & Beauty Special Interest Group (SIG) from the Pre-Business Society, marked a great success for student impact in our community. Led by juniors Cecilia Gonzalez-Jimenez, Valentina Guarita, and Alexandro Cross, the drive expanded to support not just one but two local organizations: Dress for Success and Goodwill Industries.
For the first time, the drive was structured to support both nonprofits in their mission to empower individuals through clothing donations and workforce development. “We kept 294 pounds of clothes out of landfills and supported two worthy local organizations in their economic empowerment mission,” Cross said. The drive ran from March 20 to April 14, collecting hundreds of business and professional clothing items.
“This is the first year that Goodwill Industries has been added. It’s our pleasure to support two incredible organizations that empower individuals through clothing donations. These donations don’t just fill closets, they fuel confidence, economic mobility, and opportunity. Together, we’re not just recycling clothes – we’re helping rewrite futures,” Gonzalez-Jimenez said.
In total, the broader effort, spanning several donation waves, diverted 785 pounds of textiles from landfills, underscoring the initiative’s environmental and social impact. “It’s a perfect combination of my interests in sustainability, business, and fashion,” Gonzalez-Jimenez said. “The drive offers us a way to turn fashion into a force for good.”
While the success was clear, the team also encountered some logistical growing pains. With more donations than expected, the existing clothing racks struggled under the weight.
“We got lots of unexpected donations and [the racks] weren’t very easy to transport or structurally sound,” Gonzalez-Jimenez said.
Despite the challenges, momentum is only building and the SIG team already plans to separate the drive into two parallel efforts, one for Goodwill, the other for Dress for Success, to allow for more specific donations and to further elevate each organization’s mission.
With purpose and passion, this drive proved that fashion can be far more than just a form of self-expression: it can be a tool for creating change and helping others.
The SIG fills up the trunk space with the donated clothes that are ready to support the community. The drive collected more than 700 pounds of clothing that will help many across the country. (Photos/Alexandro Cross)
