NATURAL PERSPECTIVES:

Some of the main tenets of modern environmentalism are to reduce, reuse and recycle. Fortunately, clothing is pretty easy to reuse.

Let’s face it. Most of the time we simply grow tired of clothing rather than wear it out. When that point comes, a good thing to do is to donate good unwanted clothing to Goodwill, Salvation Army or Working Wardrobes.

Vic and I only recently learned about Working Wardrobes, near the northeast corner of Newhope Street and Slater Avenue in Fountain Valley. Working Wardrobes is a 19-year-old nonprofit that helps build its clients’ self esteem. It does this through providing new and used business clothing to deserving people who are about to go out on job interviews. The organization also provides grooming tips, resume preparation, and even hairdressing and makeovers for its clients, which include adults and teens who are emerging from a crisis and are about to reenter the workforce. Clients include abuse survivors, people in drug or alcohol recovery, and homeless veterans, as well as teens from the Huntington Beach Oakview neighborhood and returning veterans at Camp Pendleton.

I learned of Working Wardrobes through the Orange County Conservation Corps. The Corps recently formed a partnership with Working Wardrobes to provide the corps’ recent high school graduates with a decent wardrobe for job interviews and that first white-collar job. Much of the men’s clothing is new, donated by Men’s Warehouse. For a donation from the Corps of only $50, our new graduates get a shopping trip to Working Wardrobes where they can pick out and keep a business suit with belt and shoes, and two business casual outfits.

I went there with Joseph Lamb, our first Corps member to benefit from this new relationship. I was thoroughly impressed with Working Wardrobes. The shopping experience was first rate. Spiffy mirrors, carpeting, individual dressing rooms, and potted plants set a high tone. With shoes, belts, ties, shirts and suits laid out neatly, it was like shopping at Nordstoms.

One of the reasons the Corps partnered with Working Wardrobes is that our graduates usually don’t have clothing suitable for job interviews. On salaries that are barely above minimum wage, most of them can’t even afford a new shirt and tie, much less a suit and dress shoes.

Every client at Working Wardrobes gets a personal shopper to help him or her select suitable outfits. Joseph chose a black suit, black casual slacks, a white shirt, black belt, black Italian leather dress shoes, and a plain gray tie. Very elegant, but stark. That’s when his personal shopper, his caseworker, and I stepped in. Poor Joseph. He had three women trying to choose clothes for him. He tolerated our help very nobly.

Joseph’s personal shopper showed him how the black suit and casual slacks could be coordinated with colored shirts and patterned ties to make many different combinations. Joseph ended up selecting a blue shirt and a yellow shirt in addition to the white shirt, and chose some more colorful ties, including a really nice blue silk tie and a boldly patterned yellow, brown and black tie. It was quite a nice wardrobe, and all for $50.

I’m really proud of Joseph. He was in my orientation class a year and a half ago. Since then, he’s earned many awards and bonuses at the Corps, and has become certified in CPR, chainsaw and forklift operation. With a high school diploma in hand and warehouse experience on his resume, he’s now ready for a job outside the Corps.

“I used to get into a lot of trouble,” he said as he was trying on shoes. “I was doing things that I wasn’t supposed to do.”

I won’t go into detail about what those things were, because they are a part of his past. That doesn’t reflect who he is now, a fine young man looking for work. I’ll just tell you how happy he was with his new clothes. His personal shopper carefully wrapped each item in tissue paper, and put his new clothes into a glossy shopping bag donated by South Coast Plaza.

There are ways you can get involved in this great program. If you have good, clean used men’s or women’s clothing on hangers (not boxed), or shoes, you can donate them to Working Wardrobes between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at 11614 Martens River Circle. Visit www.workingwardrobes.org/ donationctr.htm for donation guidelines. If they can’t use your clothing for their clients, they will sell them at their thrift store in Anaheim to generate cash for their operation.

You can also sponsor one of the Corps’ new high school graduates by donating $50 to the Orange County Conservation Corps in Anaheim. Some of our graduates have been homeless. Some are missing one or both parents. Some have been raised in foster homes. All are deserving of your help.

Every one of our new graduates will receive a trip to Working Wardrobes upon completion of their high school credits and passing the high school English and math exit exams. Instead of buying yet another new blouse or shirt for yourself, why not donate $50 to the corps to help give a deserving young person a boost up in life? Send checks payable to the OCCC to Max Carter at the OCCC at 1853 N. Anaheim, CA 92801, noting that the donation is for a trip to Working Wardrobes.

VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected].