Double the Warmth: Sponsor an Outfit

The idea

We are expanding the Community Closet, a network of free, seasonally appropriate clothing rails across Dublin City Centre. Set up in partnership with housing services, the rails allow people to choose clothing that meets their needs and preferences at no cost, promoting dignity and autonomy.

This Christmas, we are inviting the public to sponsor an outfit for €10. Each donation provides someone with clothing support, and thanks to Dublin City Council’s crowdfunding match, every donation will be doubled – meaning one €10 gift sponsors two outfits instead of one. Supporters can also request a digital voucher to give as a meaningful Christmas present.

Over six months, this project will grow from 6 to 10 partner organisations, supporting 100–150 individuals each month, redistributing 500 donated clothing items, and diverting 500kg of textiles from landfill every month.

The initiative addresses both clothing poverty and textile waste, creating a low-cost, high-impact, community-led soluti

What we'll deliver

100–150 individuals supported with free, seasonally appropriate clothing each month

500 donated clothing items redistributed each month

500kg of textiles diverted from landfill each month

10 trained volunteers supporting operations

Partnership with 10 housing services (up from 6)

Digital sponsorship vouchers provided to donors at Christmas

Why it's a great idea

The Community Closet will deliver social, environmental, and community benefits. It will directly support 100–150 people each month with access to free, seasonally appropriate clothing, helping to reduce clothing poverty while promoting dignity, choice, and wellbeing. By expanding to 10 housing service partners, we can reach more individuals and families who struggle to afford essentials. The project also brings significant environmental impact by redistributing 500 items of clothing monthly and diverting 500kg of textiles from landfill, extending the lifespan of garments and reducing waste. Volunteers will gain skills in clothing care, repair, and community service, building confidence and experience. Donors benefit too, knowing their contributions have a tangible, doubled impact through the match fund. Overall, the Community Closet creates a low-cost, high-impact, community-led solution that strengthens resilience, reduces waste, and fosters a culture of sharing, repair, and solidari

Steps to get it done

Buy rails, hangers, and equipment

Recruit and train 10 volunteers

Confirm 4 new partner housing services

Stock rails with donated, seasonal clothing

Redistribute 500 clothing items each month

Divert 500kg textiles from landfill each month

Support 100–150 individuals each month

Provide digital gift vouchers to donors

Track clothing distributed and textiles saved

Share updates with backers and partners

Prepare evaluation for future growth

Location

By Change Clothes

Change Clothes is your community-based clothing &a... Learn More

About

Hi everyone, We wanted to send a huge thank you again for supporting Community Closet earlier this year. Because of your support, Community Closet continued delivering free, choice-based clothing events into homeless services and community organisations across Dublin throughout the first half of 2026. We’re currently pulling together the final impact report for the January–May round and we’re really excited to share it with you next month. Even from the first few months alone, the impact has been incredible: 🧥 2,686 clothing items redistributed (Jan - April 2026) ♻️ 1,343kg of textiles kept in local reuse 🤝 8 partner organisations supported across Dublin Most importantly, thousands of items of good clothing reached people who genuinely needed them, through dignified, shop-style clothing events. We’re delighted to share that we’ve now secured a service contract to continue running monthly Community Closet events through to the end of 2026. However, the contract only covers the events themselves - not the system behind them. That means we still need funding for: collecting donations sorting and quality checking clothing storage and stock organisation preparing clothing rails transporting clothing across Dublin maintaining the weekly flow of clothing between donors and partner services So we’ve launched a new crowdfunding campaign to help sustain Community Closet from June–December 2026. We’re trying to find 500 people willing to give a tenner. So far, 135 people have already backed the campaign, which honestly means the world to us. If you’d like to support the next phase of Community Closet, share the campaign, or help spread the word, we’d be hugely grateful. Here's the link: https://www.spacehive.com/keeping-clothes-in-use Thank you again for helping make this project possible. Mary + the Change Clothes team

Hi friends, We hope you're keeping well this weather. Before Christmas you kindly donated to our Community Closet programme - so we're getting in touch with a quick update to let you know how we're getting on. Since January, we've worked with 5 of our partners, including Mendicity, Focus Ireland & MASI. In doing so, we've redistributed about 832 items of quality clothing to people in need. A particular highlight this month was our hand me down event at Focus Ireland Georges Street this month. This event was held for families living in temporary accommodation through Focus Ireland where they could access free clothing for their children. It was a huge success and an initiative that brought a lot of joy to these families. Currently, we're linking with new partners and planning to expand the programme to include a washing service. We are also extending the programme to include in-person pop-up experiences where adults experiencing homelessness can take items for free. This will continue to allow dignity to people by allowing them to choose clothing that suits them. We'll send another update soon, but for now, thanks so much for your support. Team Change Clothes.