Sharia's Closet Care Packages
Donation protected
What we do
Sharia’s Clothes Closet was created to provide free, gently-used emergency clothing to individuals and families who are experiencing financial hardship or crisis. We customize our care bags for each individual based on their preferences and needs, with hand-selected outfits and household essentials. We help children attend school with confidence and provide teens or adults with professional attire for interviews or the work place. We empower members of our community in need by promoting self-esteem and self-identity.
Who we serve
Sharia's Closet serves individuals and families experiencing hardship throughout the region. We are connected to community members in need through direct referrals from a wide and long-standing network of schools and service agencies, many of whom are not accessing support services elsewhere.
Reasons for need include: unemployment, transitional living, domestic violence, disability, mental illness, homelessness, crisis or disaster situations, medical emergencies, migration, refugee status, foster living, and single parent households.
How we started
The idea of starting a community closet came to me when I was eleven years old. I was living on the island of Jamaica and I recall my friends wanting different career paths. Some wanted to become soccer players, farmers, nurses, business owners, etc.
All I wished for was to be in a situation to make someone else’s life a little easier. My biggest desire was to own a large property so I could provide life’s basic necessities to the less fortunate, including clothes, food and shelter — all free of charge.
When I was 15, my family migrated to America. I finished high school, attended a couple of semesters of college, and married in 1998. Shortly thereafter, I returned to Jamaica. During my visit I observed children who weren’t able to go to school due to the lack of adequate clothing and shoes. I started saving all the clothing we outgrew for our next trip to Jamaica.
In 2004 my family and I returned to Jamaica with five barrels of clothes and food which we provided to these less fortunate. Seeing the joy a used pair of shoes brought to the children’s faces was addicting. I wanted to do more to help them and children in my San Diego community. That’s when our closet was founded — we began collecting, cleaning, and sorting clothing in the garage of our home.
In 2010, Sharia's Closet was created, named after my daughter, with a new store front in the back of a local church food pantry. Last year, as our organization grew beyond the capacity of the small storage room, we expanded into a large storage container behind the church. We use every square foot of space as more referrals continue to come in every day.
What we need
Our network of need is growing. Every month we receive more referrals than the month before. Clothing donations continue to pour in from generous members of our community, but we are greatly in need of basic clothing, hygiene, and household essentials to include with our care bags. Most of these items must be purchased.
A short list includes:
Clothing: New underwear and socks.
Hygiene: Baby diapers and wipes, deodorant, toothbrushes/toothpaste, soap, and shampoo.
Household: Baby bottles, towels
School Supplies: writing materials and backpacks
Other Supplies: Laundry detergent, clothing bags & tags
Stocking the above items would allow us to provide essentials for daily living with every care package for our community members with the greatest need.
- Shamine Linton, Founder
Sharia’s Clothes Closet was created to provide free, gently-used emergency clothing to individuals and families who are experiencing financial hardship or crisis. We customize our care bags for each individual based on their preferences and needs, with hand-selected outfits and household essentials. We help children attend school with confidence and provide teens or adults with professional attire for interviews or the work place. We empower members of our community in need by promoting self-esteem and self-identity.
Who we serve
Sharia's Closet serves individuals and families experiencing hardship throughout the region. We are connected to community members in need through direct referrals from a wide and long-standing network of schools and service agencies, many of whom are not accessing support services elsewhere.
Reasons for need include: unemployment, transitional living, domestic violence, disability, mental illness, homelessness, crisis or disaster situations, medical emergencies, migration, refugee status, foster living, and single parent households.
How we started
The idea of starting a community closet came to me when I was eleven years old. I was living on the island of Jamaica and I recall my friends wanting different career paths. Some wanted to become soccer players, farmers, nurses, business owners, etc.
All I wished for was to be in a situation to make someone else’s life a little easier. My biggest desire was to own a large property so I could provide life’s basic necessities to the less fortunate, including clothes, food and shelter — all free of charge.
When I was 15, my family migrated to America. I finished high school, attended a couple of semesters of college, and married in 1998. Shortly thereafter, I returned to Jamaica. During my visit I observed children who weren’t able to go to school due to the lack of adequate clothing and shoes. I started saving all the clothing we outgrew for our next trip to Jamaica.
In 2004 my family and I returned to Jamaica with five barrels of clothes and food which we provided to these less fortunate. Seeing the joy a used pair of shoes brought to the children’s faces was addicting. I wanted to do more to help them and children in my San Diego community. That’s when our closet was founded — we began collecting, cleaning, and sorting clothing in the garage of our home.
In 2010, Sharia's Closet was created, named after my daughter, with a new store front in the back of a local church food pantry. Last year, as our organization grew beyond the capacity of the small storage room, we expanded into a large storage container behind the church. We use every square foot of space as more referrals continue to come in every day.
What we need
Our network of need is growing. Every month we receive more referrals than the month before. Clothing donations continue to pour in from generous members of our community, but we are greatly in need of basic clothing, hygiene, and household essentials to include with our care bags. Most of these items must be purchased.
A short list includes:
Clothing: New underwear and socks.
Hygiene: Baby diapers and wipes, deodorant, toothbrushes/toothpaste, soap, and shampoo.
Household: Baby bottles, towels
School Supplies: writing materials and backpacks
Other Supplies: Laundry detergent, clothing bags & tags
Stocking the above items would allow us to provide essentials for daily living with every care package for our community members with the greatest need.
- Shamine Linton, Founder
Organizer and beneficiary
Shamine Linton
Organizer
San Diego, CA
Shamine Linton
Beneficiary
