Community Clothes Closet is bringing free clothing and essential items directly to Shawano-area residents through its Traveling Closet program, a mobile outreach effort supported this year by $3,000 in United Way funding.
The program is designed to help individuals and families experiencing financial hardship overcome barriers such as limited transportation, rising living costs and reduced access to affordable clothing. Community Clothes Closet’s broader mission is to provide free clothing to all those in need.
Through the Traveling Closet, staff and volunteers transport and set up mobile clothing distributions that offer high-quality gently used and new clothing for children, adults and older adults. Available items include everyday clothing, work-appropriate attire, seasonal outerwear, and children’s essentials.
By providing those items at no cost, the organization says the program helps people prepare for work, keep children clothed for school and stay safe during Wisconsin’s changing seasons.
The Traveling Closet works with local community organizations and social service agencies in Shawano to reach households with the greatest need. Each event is expected to serve dozens of households and distribute hundreds of clothing items, helping families stretch limited budgets while supporting dignity, employment readiness and school attendance.
In addition to the mobile program, Community Clothes Closet operates several services across Northeastern Wisconsin, including a shopping floor at its Menasha facility, a New Start Boutique for job seekers, back-to-school support, winter clothing distributions, PajamaRama, Baby Kits and Closet to Closet emergency clothing kits for children entering foster care or crisis situations.
Together, those programs aim to ensure that individuals and families have access to clothing and essentials that help them feel confident, stable and prepared for everyday life.
Community partners say the mobile model has already made a difference in nearby communities.
In Clintonville, Compassionate Connections Center Executive Director Leah Wojnowiak said the Traveling Closet has had a significant impact by bringing essential clothing to families every 60 days.
“The Traveling Closet puts an incredible amount of time and care into curating a clothes closet especially for the families they serve here in the Clintonville community,” Wojnowiak said. “It has been a true joy for the Compassionate Connections Center to partner with the Traveling Closet and witness families select clothing that suits their personal style and needs, helping to empower them and boost their self-esteem.”
Client stories have also underscored the program’s effect.
At a Traveling Closet event in Oshkosh, staff met a new father who had welcomed a baby only days earlier. He and his partner are raising five children, and despite the demands of caring for a newborn and a large family, they attended the event because their children needed clothing.
The father, who is attending school and hopes to run for a seat on the local school board, told staff he had never owned a brand-new pair of shoes because he did not own socks.
After visiting the Traveling Closet, he left with clothing, socks and a renewed sense of confidence. For the first time in his life, he later bought himself a brand-new pair of shoes.
For Community Clothes Closet, stories like that reflect the organization’s belief that clothing is more than a basic necessity. Clean, well-fitting clothing can help people attend school, pursue employment, care for their families and participate more fully in their communities.
Since 1980, Community Clothes Closet has provided clothing free of charge to people experiencing financial hardship. What began as a small church-led initiative has grown into a regional resource serving thousands of people each year through its Menasha facility and mobile outreach program.
The organization partners with more than 90 social service agencies and relies on volunteers, donors and community supporters to provide clothing in a welcoming environment where people can choose items that fit their needs and personal style.
ONLINE
For more information about Community Clothes Closet, email Karissa Buck at karissa@communityclothescloset.org.
Learn more about other organizations funded by the Shawano Area United Way this year at www.shawanocountyunitedway.org/agency-funding-2026-shawano-area-united-way.
