BALDWINSVILLE — When Alysia and Mark Clary joined the McNamara Elementary PTA in 2017, they quickly learned that many families in Baldwinsville — and beyond — do not have the means to afford new clothing and shoes as their children grow.
“The nurse’s office would come to us for things that weren’t in their budget — underwear, socks,” Alysia Clary said. “Teachers were supplying clothes and boots and shoes.”
In Onondaga County, nearly 20,000 children live under the poverty line. That’s one in five kids. In the Baldwinsville Central School District, 29% of students are classified as “economically disadvantaged,” according to BCSD’s New York State Education Department Report Card.
“We realized the need was far greater than in our own backyard,” Clary said.
Clary, who lives in Radisson, encouraged her friends to donate items to the school when cleaning out their own closets. Two years later, the Clary family’s operation became official: Clary’s Closet Inc. became an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on July 15, 2019.
Since then, Clary’s Closet has partnered with more than 55 schools in Onondaga, Cayuga and Madison counties to provide clothing essentials for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Clary said she is hoping to expand into Oswego and Cortland counties as well. The organization’s largest school partner is the Auburn Enlarged City School District, where 58% of students are economically disadvantaged, according to the NYSED Report Card.
“We filled a void that was needed for some of these kids. These families had nowhere else to turn,” Clary said.
Clary’s Closet rotates its offerings to children as the seasons change. Teachers, nurses and social workers in the partner schools keep an eye out for which students consistently come in without winter coats or in clothing that is the wrong size. Clary’s Closet welcomes gently used, freshly laundered clothing when it comes to most items, but kids receive brand-new socks and underwear.
Clary’s Closet maintains an Amazon wish list for new socks and underwear at amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/14AU04S83TYT2.
The organization’s turnaround time after receiving a request is 24 to 48 hours. Clothes are delivered to the child’s school in plain brown paper bags to not draw attention to students using the service, and the students remain anonymous on the request paperwork. Each delivery contains five sets of clothes to get the student through a week of school.
“We never want to hear that kids are missing school or don’t have the confidence to go to school,” Clary said.
Typically, Clary’s Closet serves seven to 10 children a week, but when the seasons change, requests can skyrocket to 30 per week. Last week, the organization delivered clothes for 17 students attending summer school.
“We’re gearing up for the fall because we have a feeling there’s going to be a great need,” Clary said.
The COVID-19 pandemic “sent us into orbit for referrals” as parents found themselves unemployed, Clary said. A few partner schools paused donations to their clothing closets, but Clary’s Closet continued to operate with stricter laundry and sorting protocols. In Baldwinsville, Clary’s Closet coordinated clothing deliveries with the district’s meal deliveries.
Clary shared a few stories of children who have benefited from Clary’s Closet. The organization outfitted a family of nine children, cared for by their grandmother, who had to leave their belongings behind when the family was evicted. Another CNY student, a fifth-grade boy, was overjoyed to receive new sneakers to replace his mother’s glittery hand-me-downs.
“There was a set of twins that were taking turns going to school because they only had one pair of sneakers left,” Clary said, relating a story from a local school social worker.
Clary relies on her children, 13-year-old Ella and 9-year-old Jack, to keep her apprised of current trends.
“My daughter gets her friends involved and going through their closets,” Clary said. “They’re my biggest inspiration. I’ll find them cleaning out their closets and saying, ‘This is really good — somebody could use it.”
In addition to its partner schools, Clary’s Closet collaborates with the Rescue Mission and Salvation Army as well as local businesses like Glazed & Confused in Syracuse and REKT Sports, founded by Baldwinsville youth Julian Lorenzo. Clary’s Closet also has partnered with former Syracuse University basketball star Eric Devendorf.
“We all can be part of the solution,” Clary said.
To learn more about the mission of Clary’s Closet, how to donate or how to request clothes for a student in need, visit claryscloset.org or follow @clarysclosetinc on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
