When families in Loudoun County need clothing—whether because of a financial crisis, a recent move, or an unexpected emergency—Dulles South Neighborhood Closet is there to help. For five years, the all-volunteer organization has provided coats, clothing, shoes, and accessories to thousands of local residents who need them most.
The organization serves southeastern Loudoun County, specifically the boundaries of six high school clusters—Freedom, John Champe, Lightridge, Independence, Briar Woods, and Rock Ridge. But families from across the county may be referred by school staff or other agencies. “We do serve all of Loudoun County, and we allow family liaisons with Loudoun County Public Schools to send families in urgent need to our events,” said co-founder Charlene Jones.
Each year, Dulles South Neighborhood Closet sponsors three large-scale community events—typically held in April, August, and November—where families can shop for clean, gently used clothing for free. These have provided assistance to about 3,000 people in total.
To preserve dignity and create an organized experience, the events operate by referral and appointment. “We want it to be dignified and respectful,” Jones said. “We don’t want it to feel Black Friday crazy.”
Families register online and are assigned an appointment window. Upon arrival, they receive a badge and bags labeled with their guest ID number. The number of bags depends on family size. “We check when you’re leaving to make sure the bags that add your number match the number on your tag,” Jones explained.
Space, time, and volunteers are critical to making each event possible. “We typically will have 10,000 pounds of clothing…so as you can imagine, that takes a little bit of time to organize,” she said. Clothing must be sorted by size and gender so families can find what they need. “In April, we had 143 people donate 684 hours in a week,” Jones said.
Each event serves hundreds of families. “We had 206 families come” to the April distribution, Jones said. “Typically, we’ll have our events on a Saturday from about eight until 11, and then by 1 p.m. or 1:30 p.m. the church will be ready to go for Sunday services.”
The organization also maintains an emergency closet stocked with items for urgent needs. “In between our big events—if, say, a family moves to the area in January from El Salvador or something like that and they don’t have winter coats—family liaisons or the food pantry can refer someone to the emergency closet,” Jones said. “It’s for urgent needs that spring up between events.”
The emergency closet includes a good inventory of clothes for school-age children and stocks basics like new socks and underwear. “That’s really focused on kids K through 12,” she said . “If kids need things to wear to school, they’ve got stuff there.”
A creative program supports the annual winter coat drive. With help from 100WomenStrong and youth service groups, the charity collects unclaimed lost and found items from local schools in June. “We partner with the Young Men’s Service League…they’ll pick it up and they’ll wash it for us,” Jones said. “In June, nobody wants a winter coat, but in November, people are really looking and desperate for winter coats.”
Donations from the community—of clothing, time, and money—keep the mission running. Dulles South Neighborhood Closet always needs clean, gently used clothing in all sizes, plus new socks and underwear. “These are super high-demand items,” Jones said.
Financial donations help cover behind-the-scenes costs like storage and insurance. “Even though we’re 100% volunteer, we still have to pay storage rental for storing our winter coats. We have insurance and lots of other not-glamorous expenses,” Jones said. “We won’t exist as an organization unless we have those basics covered.”
Looking ahead, Jones hopes to offer brand-new shoes. “We do have shoes at our events, but they’re usually secondhand shoes,” she said. “Our typical shoes are really dress shoes, but what we really need are shoes like kids’ tennis shoes, and so when we get them, they go really fast.”
There’s no shortage of need in the Dulles South community—and no shortage of ways to help.
“You can come help organize clothing,” Jones said. “If we have 10,000 pounds of clothing to set up in a week, or less than a week—you can imagine it takes a lot of hours to get that done.”
How You Can Help:
- Donate: New or gently used clothing, especially coats, hats, gloves, and new socks or underwear.
- Volunteer: Help sort and organize clothing or assist at an event.
- Give financially: Support operational needs like storage and insurance.
Learn more or make a donation at dullescloset.org.
To preserve dignity and create an organized experience, the events operate by referral and appointment.