Annual clothing giveaway proving popular with Bozeman

Bozeman is cleaning out its closets in preparation for the third annual Thanks-4-Giving clothing giveaway.

On Saturday and Sunday, people are invited to the Willson School Gym to look through tons of kids and adult clothes and take whatever they want - for free.

Just about every school in the Bozeman area has been collecting "gently used" clothes for the event.

"It's about recycling, reusing, reducing," said Reni Kessinger, who started the giveaway two years ago.

"Just the whole community sharing what we have," added co-organizer Aloha Williams.

You don't have to be needy to participate, Kessinger and Williams stressed.

Kessinger got the idea to start the giveaway after cleaning out her 11- and 13-year-old daughters' closets. There was no place she could bring their old clothes that would simply give them away for free. So, she decided to create one.

Since then, the event has grown.

Last year, more than 100 people were already lined up outside when the doors opened. Clothes were stacked atop 33 tables.

This year, the giveaway has been expanded to two days to accommodate demand.

Columbia fleece pullovers, Patagonia jackets, Ugg boots, ugg5842, ugg1873,ugg5825, ugg5835, ugg5131, ugg5125 a brand new suede skirt and a toddler-size pair of cowboy boots are among the items that will be available at the giveaway. Sizes range from infant to adult.

Bozeman's 10 public schools along with LaMotte School, Anderson School and Monforton School all collected clothes.

"We started our drive a week ago today and two of our parents with Suburbans completely filled the back of their cars like two times and dropped off both loads today," LaMotte Principal LeeAnn Burke said Tuesday. LaMotte is a kindergarten through eighth-grade school located at the mouth of Bear Canyon. The school enrolls 67 students.

Burke said the students there are excited to pick through their peers' old clothes.

"The kids see it as a great way to swap some clothes out," she said.

Anyone who wants to donate can drop off clothes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day until the end of the day Friday in a 48-foot moving van parked along Fifth Avenue outside the Willson School. Bags of clothing should be labeled with the gender and size of the items.

Anything left after this weekend's giveaway is packed up and shipped to needy people in Africa, Kessinger said.

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