by Sue Ann Rybak

One of the principles of yoga is the law of giving and receiving. It's just one of the reasons why Chestnut Hill resident Sue Pinto, owner of Rebel Yoga Studio & Apparel Store, 8020 Germantown Ave. in Chestnut Hill, is a drop-off location for Our Closet, a program of the Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Philadelphia.

Our Closet was founded by Jill Aschkenasy, 49, in Bryn Mawr in 2011 in response to one Philadelphia family's tragedy – a house fire that left the family without the most basic needs, including clothing. Pinto, a mother of two, met Aschkenasy while volunteering at a pop-up shop in West Philadelphia at LIFTPhiladelphia, which no longer exists.

Aschkenasy, of Haverford, said part of Our Closet's mission is that they don't take anything that you wouldn't wear yourself.

“Lots of people are giving out free clothes in the city,” she said. “That's not a unique model. When you are walking into Our Closet, it's like you are walking into the Gap or another retail store. The clothes are on the rack or folded neatly on a shelf. Even though the clothes are free, we have a sales associate asking, 'What can I help you with today? I see you picked out a blouse; let me see if I can find a great scarf to go with that.’”

She said the other thing that makes Our Closet unique is that it doesn't require a referral from a social worker. People are allowed to shop for up to five free items.

“Our goal is to make finding clothing less complicated,” Aschkenasy said, “Our shoppers fall somewhere on the spectrum of need.”

Pinto, 50, a former teacher and culinary chef, recalled a woman receiving a fur coat at a pop-up shop one winter when she volunteered as a sales associate. “It was amazing,” she said. “The coat was really small. I remember thinking ‘Who is going to fit in this?’ I remember this really thin woman came in and she said, ‘I am getting this!’”

Every week, the woman came to the pop-up shop wearing the fur coat.

“She said, ‘I am SO warm because I have this gorgeous fur coat,” Pinto recalled. “Jill doesn’t want people to feel like they are receiving charity. She wants them to have a good shopping experience. It gives it more of a dignified and thoughtful approach instead of people just grabbing what they can and running out the door.”

After she opened Rebel, Pinto wanted to find another way to help Our Closet besides volunteering as a sales associate, which would be almost impossible as a small business owner.

“When Jill first started Our Closet, I used to help her collect stuff,” Pinto said. “My friends would often tell me they had clothes they had to drop off at Goodwill. I would say, ‘No, don’t take it to Goodwill. Give it to me.’”

Then, Pinto would collect the bags of clothing and eventually drive them out to Our Closet’s warehouse in Springfield. Right around the same time Pinto opened Rebel, Our Closet merged with Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Philadelphia to expand its services. It was then that Pinto decided to make Rebel a drop-off site for clothes. “I know how hard it is to find places that are a good drop-off location,” she said. “The clothing that we get from our donors is just amazing. We have easily collected over 500 bags of clothing for Our Closet.”

Pinto said many times when people are coming in to drop off clothes that there is a story attached. She recalled a woman whose mother had recently passed away and was cleaning out her mother’s closet. “It’s emotional for people because she was sad, but she was happy that the clothes were going to support Our Closet and the purpose behind it, versus just dropping the clothes off in a metal bin in a parking lot.”

She said it made the woman happy to know her mother’s clothes would bring a smile to someone’s face. Aschkenasy added that Rebel has been a fabulous community partner and provided “a welcoming space” for their donors. She said that having a drop-off site at Rebel not only allows them to collect clothes from people in Chestnut Hill, but “It’s a great way for Our Closet to connect with the community. The Chestnut Hill community has been overwhelming in their support.”

For more information, about Our Closet, go to ourclosetpa.org. Sue Ann Rybak can be reached at 215-248-8804 or sueann@chestnuthilllocal.com