‘Recyclothes’ addresses students’ bare necessities

By Hamilton Kahn

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    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — Looking through closets and drawers for clothes you aren’t using doesn’t have to be a chore. Not when you know they’re going to help students succeed in school.

The city, in partnership with Albuquerque Public Schools and Locker #505, sponsored “Recyclothes” at the Hinkle Fun Center, where second-hand clothing — shirts, pants. dresses, undergarments and coats — is collected for distribution at a later time.

There are thousands of APS students for whom the things the rest of us take for granted — clothing, food, heat and shelter, among them — can make it difficult to fully concentrate on what they are being taught in their classrooms.

For the first time this year, clothing will be given to K-12 students not only in Bernalillo County, but in Valencia, Sandoval and Torrance counties as well, said Kim Kerschen, executive director of Locker #505, a nonprofit organization based in Albuquerque.

“We’re helping the kids, we’re giving you more room in your closets or garages, and it’s not going in the landfill,” Kerschen said. “So it’s a win-win-win for everyone.”

When they started off nine years ago, Locker#505 met with 421 students, whereas they now help more than 3,000, she said. Their next big event is a fashion show on April 2, to raise money for new underwear, socks and shoes.

Information on how and where clothes can be donated anytime can be found online at locker505.org.

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