LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Lexington Woman's Club is celebrating 75 years of service with a brand-new clothing closet at the former Henry Clay High School. It's where they'll get at least 1,600 Fayette Co. students ready for the school year with new clothes.
Since the clothing project began in a closet at Ashland Elementary School in 1948, the club says they've clothed around 70,000 kids in kindergarten through the 5th grade. But they outgrew their former space and can now expand into multiple rooms, filled with new and gently-used clothes.
Here's how it works: schools recommend the families who need help. When children come to the clothing closet, they get to shop for themselves, picking out two new outfits, plus underwear, coats and winter gear. The club's president Renea Dixon says each year, more children are in need.
"It's just exponentially gotten larger," she said. "We were normally doing around 1,000, and now up to 1,600 a year in the last three years. I'm sure it will be 2,000 in the blink of an eye."
That need is why they're asking for more assistance from the community and spreading the word about what they do, which also includes two scholarships. Their website is lwckentucky.org.
Mayor Linda Gorton also stopped by their new center Wednesday and honored the club's work with a proclamation.
