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Watch the Clothes Closet video

Clothes Closet Hours of Operation: We have temporarily closed the Clothes Closet and will reopen it sometime in 2008. For alternate donation sites, click here.

The Lucille Francard Clothes Closet, at 1515 S. Claremont St., San Mateo, is a unique 6,000 square foot “store” that provides free clothing, baby items, toys, books, small appliances, and other household goods to Samaritan House clients. Around 700 low-income clients shop at Samaritan House’s Clothes Closet each month.

Why the Clothes Closet is Different
Unlike a traditional thrift store, Samaritan House’s Clothes Closet does not sell any donated materials. All donated goods are given, free of charge, to qualified low-income Samaritan House clients who need assistance. Clients receive a voucher from a Case worker at Samaritan House’s Client Services Department and receive a designated time period when they can browse the Clothes Closet for items printed on their voucher.

Many of our clients have used our Clothes Closet to obtain business attire for job interviews, rugged clothing for outdoor labor jobs, and prom dresses for teens. The Clothes Closet also helps our clients who are transitioning out of our Safe Harbor homeless shelter to obtain household goods for their own apartments.

Helping Children
The Clothes Closet is a special place for children, too. There is a children’s play area where they can watch cartoons, play with toys, or read books while their parents shop. Kids can also select toys, books, and games to take home with them. Several children have even received their first bike from the Clothes Closet.

Approximately 40% of the items in the Clothes Closet come from Project Wee Care, a Samaritan House sponsored children’s giving program. Children from 50 local public and private schools (mostly elementary schools) collect clothing, household items, toys, and food for families in need. The Wee Care program gathers hundreds of bags of clothing per year. The theme of Project Wee Care is “children helping children” and that is exactly what they do. The children donate their own clothing that they have outgrown and toys that they no longer play with to help local underprivileged children.

Clothes Closet Volunteers
All of the goods we provide at the Clothes Closet are donated by generous people and businesses in the community. In addition, the Clothes Closet benefits from a number of volunteers who spend many hours each day sorting clothes by size and type and assisting clients. Many of these volunteers have been working for Samaritan House for over 10 years. This wonderful volunteer workforce helps to keep the costs of running the Clothes Closet low and allows Samaritan House to disburse all donated materials free of charge.

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