The Sharing Shelf Opens A Teen Boutique For Westchester Teens In Need

PORT CHESTER, NY — It's tough being a teenager, but a new venture from The Sharing Shelf will help give teens an always helpful confidence boost when it comes to how they feel about themselves.

The Sharing Shelf, a nonprofit clothing bank, just opened its Teen Boutique at 47 Purdy Ave. in Port Chester, to provide free clothes to Westchester teenagers in financial need. The special boutique operates as a free store, geared specifically towards teens, located next to The Sharing Shelf’s clothing bank.

The Teen Boutique allows low-income teens, referred by schools and nonprofit organizations, to choose their own clothing at no cost in a private and dignified setting that has the look and feel of a real boutique. The new location was made possible by a grant from Impact100 Westchester.

The Sharing Shelf says that clothing insecurity, or the lack of sufficient properly sized and seasonally appropriate clothing for teens and children in need, is a major challenge in Westchester. In 2023, the organization received over 5,500 applications for clothing for teens and children from more than 100 social-service agencies, schools, and other nonprofits. Demand has grown 300 percent over the past three years.

Children who are clothing insecure are more likely to be bullied by their peers and miss school, often leading them to fall back academically. During the high school years, they are more likely to drop out with lifelong social, emotional, health, and economic impacts. However, studies show that school attendance and academic performance improve in children and teens provided with clean clothing. Appropriate clothing can boost a child’s or teen’s self-esteem and motivation.

While Westchester is one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S., its poverty rate for children under five grew from 9.5 percent to 11.7 percent from 2021 to 2022, according to Westchester Children’s Association, and over 67,000 children and teens live in poverty or a low-income home.

"The Sharing Shelf’s Teen Boutique is an innovative and vital development in the effort to address clothing insecurity in Westchester," Deborah Blatt, Founder and Executive Director of The Sharing Shelf, said. "Clothing insecurity needs to be tackled in conjunction with the better-recognized food insecurity and housing insecurity. We are very grateful to Impact100 Westchester for making this exciting initiative possible."

For more information, call 917-921-8034 or send an email to this address.

The Sharing Shelf is a nonprofit clothing bank serving Westchester County. It operates a warehouse in Port Chester, where new and gently used clothes are collected, volunteers screen the clothes for quality, and the clothes are distributed for free to low-income children and teens through social-service agencies, schools, and other nonprofits. In each case, the ultimate recipient is a child or teen in need, and the clothing provided is both age- and season-appropriate, fits properly, and boosts the individual’s esteem and confidence.