What started as an idea between two Liberty High School students, Eli Kim and Amit Jennings, has grown into a full-scale community movement. Their nonprofit, Wear It Forward, has donated more than 6,000 clothing items — worth over $90,000 — to The Storehouse Community Center in less than a year.
The effort began in early 2025 with front-porch pickups in Frisco. Today, it spans multiple cities, including Allen, Plano and McKinney, with two active chapters, 15 student volunteers and partnerships across ten schools.
Making Donations Easy
The Wear It Forward model is straightforward: remove barriers that keep people from donating. The students organize home pickups, collect unclaimed clothing from lost and found bins and host schoolwide drives. On Sept. 2, they delivered 750 clothing items to Joseph’s Coat, The Storehouse’s clothing closet.
Joseph’s Coat has seen a sharp rise in demand, distributing more than 130,000 items last fiscal year compared to just over 90,000 the year before. Families who use the program can “shop” for free, choosing the clothing that best fits their needs.
“We know that everyone has clothes they no longer need, but many people don’t donate because it’s inconvenient,” said Kim. “We are working to remove the barriers and create a system that makes giving back easy, fast and meaningful.”
Powered By Students, Fueled By Community
Kim and Jennings, along with their team of student volunteers, have logged hundreds of hours. They’ve coordinated National Honor Society drives, designed flyers, run social media campaigns and spoken at schools to grow support. Their next goal: expand into Carrollton and Richardson…