Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics This woman is providing second-hand clothes that teens don’t just need, but want Donated clothes for low-income kids aren't always that cool. So a volunteer at a school district in Sonoma County curates, launders and presents clothing donations that teens actually want to wear. National This woman is providing second-hand clothes that teens don't just need, but want March 2, 20265:40 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered From By Shandra Back This woman is providing second-hand clothes that teens don’t just need, but want Listen · 3:29 3:29 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5711545/nx-s1-9670714" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Donated clothes for low-income kids aren't always that cool. So a volunteer at a school district in Sonoma County curates, launders and presents clothing donations that teens actually want to wear. Sponsor Message
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Teens can be notoriously picky about styles. When charities provide clothes to low-income students, the options do not always match what young people actually want to wear. As Shandra Back at KRCB reports, one woman in a California school district is putting together a free clothing shop designed with teens and their tastes in mind.
SHANDRA BACK, BYLINE: It's noon, and lunch is just beginning at the El Molino campus in the West Sonoma County School District. The campus is home to two high schools, Laguna and the Academy of Innovative Arts. One classroom looks a bit different from the rest. Pop music, clothing racks and stickered mirrors fill the space. This is the Clothing Closet, a place where once a week students can rifle through jeans, jewelry, shoes and take what they want for free. It's open to all students, regardless of income level.
MINA WILMARTH: It's pretty cool. It's bright. It's clean. We've got some nice styles here.
BACK: That's Mina Wilmarth (ph). She's a freshman.
MINA: A lot of different clothes. You can take as many as you want. So if your parents don't buy you clothes a lot, then this is a great option.
BACK: Clothing giveaways like this aren't new. There are traveling trailers packed with secondhand clothing going to schools throughout the state. While they meet the need for clothes, they don't always appeal to teenage sensibilities. And so the Clothing Closet takes a different approach.
JENNIFER ROVENTINI: I select every piece that goes in here - every piece. And I'll wash it, dry it, alter it.
BACK: That's Jennifer Roventini. She runs the Clothing Closet as a volunteer. She curates the clothes, sending more than half of all donated items to other charities.
ROVENTINI: We don't want it to look like a secondhand store. We want it to look like a carefully curated boutique just for them, where nothing's wrinkled or missing a button.
BACK: Roventini stays tuned into the trends through her three kids who are in high school and college. For example, she knows skinny jeans are out and taught herself how to crop them into stylish shorts. And she stages the clothing closet like a teenager's bedroom - stickers cover the mirrors, broken skateboards and band posters decorate the walls. Roventini says it's not just about meeting the need for clothes but helping teenagers feel like they're expressing their own style and building confidence.
ROVENTINI: And I think that just really helps with their overall just, like, outlook.
BACK: At her first grand opening back in 2024, Roventini realized she was onto something. The students cleared her out.
ROVENTINI: I counted the hangers - in just a half-hour lunch period, almost 200 empty hangers.
BACK: She laughs, remembering that moment.
ROVENTINI: It was like, oh, my gosh, I have to pull this off every Wednesday.
BACK: Back at the clothing closet, Scarlett Peralta (ph) is looking through some cosmetics.
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BACK: Do you come every time it's open?
SCARLETT PERALTA: I do. I come every time it's open.
BACK: Peralta's a senior and has bubble gum-colored hair and patterned acrylic nails to match. She says she does them herself as a hobby and to save money.
SCARLETT: I see new stuff, and I was like, OK, I have to be, like, one of the first people in here.
BACK: Many students who are at the Clothing Closet on a recent visit say the stuff they find there helps to keep them warm in the winter. Marley Lindsay (ph) is a freshman and says the jacket he's wearing - he got it from the Clothing Closet recently.
MARLEY LINDSAY: I don't have many jackets and, like, hoodies, so it's good just to come and grab one.
BACK: Roventini says they're expanding the Clothing Closet. They're bringing it to another campus in the same school district soon. For NPR News, I'm Shandra Back in Sonoma County, California.
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