Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Loved Twice.


For the first time in almost 3 years, GROVE STREET kids does not have a huge back-stock of baby clothes. When we first opened, we bought a lot of baby things from our customers only to quickly realize that not so many customers were buying them from us. Was it the pricing? Was it the quality?



It was the quantity. There is so much out there that most folks don't ever need to buy baby things - they're either given as gifts or as hand-me-downs - and the babies grow out of them so fast that they barely even get used. So what to do with them? Sell 'em, that's what. But no, wait. Most resale shops don't buy baby clothes after all. In fact, GSK even stopped looking at baby clothes because folks that brought them in to sell would just donate them to us to be rid of them. Why, just today, I had two separate women come in, each with two large plastic bags packed to overflowing with baby clothes. All the while, another customer who is 8 months pregnant, is shopping. But not for baby things, as she has those already. She's buying for her older child.

So, if we aren't buying them to sell, what do we do with all these baby clothes?

Back in February, I was contacted by a lovely woman, Lisa Klein, a mother of two, who is also the Founder and Executive Director of an organization called Loved Twice. She explained to me the mission of Loved Twice is to supply free baby clothes to underprivileged newborns during their first year of life in the Bay Area. Since 2007, they have delivered over 20,000 pounds of baby clothing to more than 3000 newborns in need. Considering a newborn onesie weighs just over one ounce, this is a significant volume of items that have been saved from landfills and recycled back to our community’s highest need mothers and children. She hoped that GSK would support their endeavors.



Would we?

Since that time, Lisa has picked up the equivalent of 6 large garbage bags of baby clothes, shoes, blankets and whatnot from GSK. It's a win-win situation for everyone.

Recently, Lisa was chosen as one of People Magazine's "All Stars Among Us" for her organization's contribution to the community. You can see her being honored for her achievements at the MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim, airing on FOX at 5pm PST July 13th.