Lost-n-Found Youth needs your clothes! Specifically business clothes appropriate for interviews for entry level jobs.
Lost-n-Found Youth is one of only a handful of organizations in the country focusing on homeless LGBTQ youth ages 18-25. While approximately 10% of the general population identifies as LGTB, they represent 40% of the homeless population. Many large shelters will not accept LGBTQ youth, or prove to be unsafe for them due to bullying, coersion, or sexual violence.
Lost n-Found Youth runs a 6 bed home in Atlanta, along with a 24/7 staffed emergency hotline for LGBTQ homeless youth. They work tirelessly to get young LGTB people under roofs and help them learn essential life skills to support themselves. One of the primary goals of the program is to get the youth employed so that they can afford their own place to live. Considering the many obstacles they face to employment, it is vitally important that they get off on the right foot at an interview by looking neat and professional.
Lost-n-Found Youth receives so many donations of casual clothing that they don't actually have room for any more and are redirecting donations elsewhere. Meanwhile, they have a critical shortage of interview-appropriate outfits, especially for women, and including plus-sizes. The youth in the program go job hunting every day, but need the following women's clothing to be successful:
dress shirts/blouses/light sweaters
skirts
slacks
dresses
Belts
dress shoes (comfortable for walking)
dressy jackets and suit coats
Nylons/pantyhose (new in package)
Larger shoe sizes would be particularly useful (women's 10+)
While their biggest need right now is for women's clothes, they could still use interview-appropriate clothing for men, including:
Dress shirts
Slacks
belts
Dress socks
suit jackets/blazers
neckties in simple, modern styles
If you're cleaning out your wardrobe and getting rid of anything that a young person could wear to a basic minimum-wage job interview (i.e. those "boring" pencil skirts and blouses you've replaced with something more stylish, or those "other sizes" you'll never wear again) now's your chance to clean out the closet.
If you're willing to ship them to Atlanta, GA please contact me at conklin.email @ yahoo.com for arrangements. Lost-n-Found Youth is a registered 501(c)(3) and can provide a receipt for your tax records if you need one.
All sizes of interview-appropriate clothing are very welcome, and I can do basic mending on items that need it (i.e. seam repair, button replacement, shoe shining, etc.).
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