When teen sisters Brooke and JoJo Friedman cleaned out their closets during the pandemic, they filled up trash bags with unwanted clothes. As they prepared to haul the stuff to shelter for women and children, they stopped, thinking there had to be a better way.
That’s how SheStyles was born.
Instead of picking through piles of discards, young girls and women in need of clothing can now peruse restored, pressed and even new garments that are carefully categorized on racks at boutique-style pop-up shops held where they live. The shoppers get assistance from JoJo and Brooke and from personal stylists who’ve volunteered.
The SheStyles way offers girls real-life shopping sprees but with one difference: Everything is always free.
“I was stressing out about what was going to happen to these donation bags,” explained Brooke, now 18, but 16 when she and her sister started holding free shopping events throughout Los Angeles County. “In my head, the clothing donation process was not as personal as you wanted it to be.”
“We tend to target teen girls,” said JoJo, now 16, but only 14 when she and her sister started the nonprofit. “We understand what it’s like to be a teen girl and how clothing can play a big part in her self-confidence. All girls love going shopping.”
With help from mom, Shari Friedman, who is well-acquainted with the business of philanthropy, the nonprofit has held seven pop-up clothing giveaways over about two years.
The two girls from Brentwood who attend Brentwood School started a school club where they recruited volunteers to support the nonprofit. They held used clothing drives using social media and even found a wholesaler in Van Nuys who needed to unload some overstock, said Friedman.
The two teenagers held their two largest events on Saturday, April 27 at the William Mead Homes in Los Angeles, a city-owned low-income housing development near Chinatown, and on Sunday, April 28, at KIPP Scholar Academy in South L.A. In total, about 82…
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