One of my favorite wintertime events is the annual women’s clothing swap at the Germantown Jewish Centre (GJC). Begun by Genie Ravital as a fundraiser for the John Kerry campaign in 2004, this February was the 17th annual swap, with a pause during the COVID years.

During the deep winter weeks prior to the event, each of us reviews and clears our closet of clothes we no longer wear. Perhaps the item is too large or too small, or out of fashion, or a gift never worn. We drop off our bundles at the Germantown Jewish Centre, our local synagogue, or at the home of one of the volunteer organizers.

“It has been invaluable to have the assistance of GJC’s maintenance staff in moving all the donations to the event site, setting up and breaking down all the tables, clothing racks, make-shift clothing racks and all the event’s “infrastructure”” says Genie.

The evening before the event, which is typically on a Saturday night, all the donated items are sorted by the volunteer team, moving to beats wafting through the empty event space, and supplemented by some wine, cheese & crackers. This has been a party in itself and quite fun. Since COVID though, Genie says “we had to eliminate snacks. I miss this, as this added extra warmth, hospitality, and space for socializing.”

The next morning, each person walking through the doors contributes a suggested donation of $20 and fills a bag of clothes new to her, oftentimes trying on and getting fashion feedback from friends. No one is turned away for lack of funds.

Though it is mostly clothes, there is always a lineup of shoes to try on, plus jewelry and scarves to experiment with and dance to.

Genie says that “it’s always fun to reunite with the volunteers every year. Many volunteers have been doing this for many years, some every single swap. Many of us don’t have any other relationship to each other outside this event and there is a warm camaraderie in volunteering together on this joyful event.”

Leftover items are bagged and donated to a local second hand shop. And the funds raised all go to a non-profit selected by the committee. This year, it was The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, created to build trust, respect, and relationships between Muslim and Jewish women of all ages. Apropos to the times we live in.

Each year, the committee selects a group to receive the thousands of dollars raised. For six years, it was the Darfur Alert Coalition, a coalition of Darfuri activists and like-minded supporters who have worked tirelessly to protect the Darfuri people, to publicize the atrocities and genocide which have been systematically perpetrated on this population in southern Sudan, and to promote a peaceful resolution.

For another six years, the beneficiary has been POWER Interfaith, a coalition of people from different faith communities across Philadelphia advocating for social justice in Philadelphia.

Twice, funds went to HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), the world’s oldest refugee agency, working for a world in which refugees find welcome, safety, and opportunity. In 2012, it was the Women for Women International group whose global community invests in women survivors of war and conflict, providing them with social and economic skills to transform their own lives. In 2015, the Dining for Women group was funded. They’re a group of women who get together each month to learn about and fund different grassroots women’s groups around the world. In 2023, we supported the Attic Youth Center, a safe and supportive community for LGBTQIA+ youth.

Says Genie Ravital… “I was the lead organizer for this event since inception, until the outdoor pandemic swap in 2022. Leah Corsover had been a lead volunteer for most of the preceding years and stepped up to be lead organizer in 2022. I stepped down in 2022 to be an assistant to Leah.”

Betsy Teutsch & Shira Alberts have served as as event advisors for pretty much all 17 years. Betsy has done all the PR every year, including articles for The Shuttle (newspaper of our local food co-op Weavers Way) and Centre Call (newsletter of the Germantown Jewish Centre). Shira has promoted our complimentary tickets to the guests of Family Promise (an NGO transforming the lives of homeless people, formerly Interfaith Hospitality Network) & HIAS. Shira also collects clothing for people in a homeless community that she served as a nurse.

Mindy Shapiro designed the event graphic. Rivkah Walton designed the original flyer with Mindy’s graphics, and updates the event flier every year.

Most years, someone takes extra wire hangers to a dry cleaners. Also, most bags and boxes that the donations arrive in are reused as shopping bags, or recycled. All in the spirit of zero waste.

When I went into my own closet this year, I found quite a few t-shirts that used to be my mothers. All a little large for me, but hard to give away. So in the weeks prior to the clothing swap, I ended up learning to take these in. I now have about a dozen new-to-me t-shirts that I wear daily! Not only does charity begin at home, so does textile reuse!

So… clean out your closets, raise money for a worthy cause, bring home some new-to-you treasures… and, have some fun! What’s not to like?

This could be a fundraiser for almost any non-profit, anyplace. It’s a fun and simple model showcasing textile reuse that we would love to see replicated. Do leave a comment when you replicate this elsewhere.