For nearly 20 years, Ann Ordway has collected gently used clothes to give Deer Valley Unified School District students and families in need one less thing to worry about.
She said it started the project in 2005 with she and a friend collecting prom dresses, driving around to Valley high schools to donate them to girls could not afford a large one-time expense. Ordway set up racks at all five DVUSD high schools for those who wanted to give their dress after prom and “fairy godmothers” who donated other clothes.
The effort became know as the “Giving Closet” and expanded to formal clothes for boys as well, with outfits to wear at more general events like job interviews and eighth-grade promotions. Finding a permanent home was difficult, as Ordway started with some room in her garage and distributing clothes from her car, to a temporary space at the Outlets at Anthem, then Boulder Creek High School, and finally and most successfully at several spots on the Barry Goldwater High School campus in Phoenix.
