Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCA)

But if the shoe fits...

A story from Beyond Ourselves

By Katie Soderquist

Published May 1, 2010 in Witness

Last February 27, my friend Caroline La Rash and I participated in Beyond Ourselves along with many other members of PCPC’s young adult group. After a worship service at the church, our group headed off to east Dallas to work with Interfaith Housing Coalition. IHC uses a faith-based approach to help families with children transform their lives from poverty and homelessness to self-sufficiency. These families become beneficiaries of the many resources that IHC offers, including a furnished apartment, a work-appropriate wardrobe, children’s clothing, job search tools, and budgeting counseling. In return, the families commit to taking ownership of the foundational problems that influenced their current situation.

The group of about 40 young adults was assigned different projects, ranging from mopping floors to fixing roofs to sorting furniture. Our particular group was given the task of sorting through countless bags of donation clothes.

While IHC is blessed to receive so many clothing donations, they can keep only the clothes that look brand-new and fall under the categories of either professional attire or children’s clothing. As Caroline and I sorted through piles of clothing, we noticed that many of the items were really nice—not just good quality, but purchased-last-season-and-still-very-cute nice. We came to realize that Interfaith had no use for them.

Caroline and I had come prepared to sort through piles and piles of old, worn, and stained clothing. We were not expecting to find brand-new Diane Von Furstenberg dresses, Trina Turk tops, or Theory jackets! Caroline even found a pair of adorable, brand-new Tory Burch gold sandals—exactly in her size! At that point we looked at each other for several moments before one of us said, “If IHC can’t use these, and if all of these items are going to Goodwill anyway…should we perhaps donate them…to our own closets?”

Don’t worry, my friends! Those moments passed and we began to develop a better plan. As two gals who know how to work a good deal, we put our heads together and came up with an idea to exchange these generous donations for something that would really benefit Interfaith.We collected all of the new, designer-label clothing that IHC could not use and took it to Buffalo Exchange, a clothing resale shop on Greenville Avenue. We were not sure what kind of reaction we would get there and ended up being pleasantly surprised. The manager listened to what we were doing and eagerly sorted through the clothing with us, pricing each item and making purchase selections. They bought almost every single item (including those tempting Tory Burch sandals) and cut us a check to Interfaith for almost $650!

Although the sum may not seem extravagant, this experience is an example of the many ways that God multiplies the efforts of those who help others. Little stories such as this one happened all over Dallas that day—a true testament to His hand at work through us. Beyond Ourselves was a wonderful way for Caroline and me to immerse ourselves in fellowship and service. We were changed by this experience and look forward to future opportunities that allow us to live for something greater than ourselves.