March 28, 2024

Cards House of Apparel helping high school kids in need

When the original clothing closet closed at Newton Senior High School, it created a void for the students who depended on it.

The closet took gently-used donated clothing and made it available to any NHS student who was in need. Whether it was a dress for a dance or someone having to change into something within the dress code policy, the closet was there.

After the closet closed, two NHS staff members, Danielle Murphy and Abby Lamont, felt it was still needed. Four months ago, it was relaunched in a new location and with a new name: Cards House of Apparel.

“Last year, Danielle and I started talking, and we saw that there were some students that were in need, so we started going through our own closets,” said Lamont, who works in the NHS Career Center, where Cards House is located.

Pretty soon, they realized the two of them alone wouldn’t be able to adequately supply Cards House or be able to provide for a variety of body types and genders, Lamont said.

“We started asking around with staff that was in the building if we knew we didn’t have a certain size or something … We realized that the entity needed to come back  and our school really needed it,” said Murphy, who is a NHS guidance counselor.

The original closet was eliminated due to lack of space on campus, and as this new endeavour began to grow, the duo realized they were going to need somewhere to store the clothes they were collecting. Lamont provided the perfect location by offering up a rarely-used conference room inside the career center.

Now that the new venture had a home, they started reaching out to the community and among their personal contacts to acquire more clothing.

In the short time span since the Cards House was launched, Lamont and Murphy built relationships with several Armed Services recruiters and local women’s clothing store Cato. Both entities donate regularly now.

“We have been very, very fortunate and blessed to receive all of these donations. Danielle and I were so overwhelmed by the generosity of this community, I can’t say enough good things about the amount of donations that have come in, and in such a short time,” Lamont said.

Cards House carries everything from accessories to undergarments. For items like socks, bras and underwear, it uses whatever financial donations it receives to purchase them new.

As a counselor, Murphy said she’s been able to develop trusting relationships with students and has been encouraging them to use Cards House.

“I’m happy that has happened as well, as just an offshoot of the overall generosity,” Murphy said.

In addition, they have turned this into an educational opportunity as well. Juniors Bailey Rock and Jessie Smith were handpicked to work at Cards House. Rather than attend study hall, the two of them do everything from helping their fellow students create the perfect look to arranging clothing racks.

“I basically said, ‘yes,’ because I enjoy helping kids in need. My family volunteers for a bunch of community stuff, so we’re always kind of helping out,” Smith said.

Rock concurs with Smith and expressed pride in her work.

“Knowing that you are helping people that you go to school with improve their lives — that feels good to do that,” Rock said.

With donations rolling in, a steady location and crack staff of students, Lamont has a lofty goal for Cards House this year. She wants to ensure that every student at NHS has a winter coat, a pretty daunting task for a school projected to have an 850 enrollment figure, according to a recent demographic survey.

“Our goal is to provide one for every student that wants one … They do the ‘Shoes that Fit’ (campaign) for the younger grades, but a lot of our students aren’t able to get winter coats. We’ve had some donated here, but we need more,” Lamont said.

Cards House of Apparel is a certified nonprofit, all donations are tax-deductible and it can provide donors a receipts can be provided, Lamont said.

Donors can drop off donations at the NHS front office, the NHS career center or contact Murphy or Lamont directly at (641) 792-5797.

Contact Senior Staff Writer Ty Rushing at (641) 792-3121 ext. 6532 or at trushing@newtondailynews.com.