When Dawn Schmied’s mother died in 2021, it fell to her to decide what to do with her personal items and clothing. There were things she gave away. Things she wanted to keep. And lots of clothing that she didn’t know what to do with, Schmied said. A friend asked if her church, First Congregational in downtown Elgin, had a clothing closet. While it had lots of initiatives to help those in need — soup kettle meals, a food pantry, a lending closet for things like crutches — a program to provide clothing was not among them. “I started thinking about it,” Schmied said. “My mom and her brothers grew up very, very poor. … My mom used to tell me there were some winters when she didn’t have a winter coat. There were times they didn’t have food.” There weren’t a lot of services for families in need when her mother was growing up in the 1950s, she said. Families like hers, where the husband didn’t provide for his family and the wife worked minimum-wage jobs, really struggled, she said. And that became the inspiration behind Schmied and her husband Todd’s decision to create a clothing closet at First Congregational. Todd Schmied goes through a bag of items donated to the clothing closet at First Congregational Church in Elgin. The clothing will be sorted and available for free for families in need. (Gloria Casas/The Courier-News) Schmied, a teacher for School District U-46, knew there was a need for clothing in the community. “I said to my husband that we live in a very needy community. I work with kids who don’t have the proper clothing and the proper tools,” Schmied said. Together the couple approached church leaders, who embraced the idea and provided the space where clothing would be available to anyone who wanted it free of charge. They started collecting donations in early 2023, and held the first closet event a couple of months later. “Not one person showed up the whole time we were open,” Schmied said. That didn’t deter her. The next month, thanks to word of mouth, about 40 people came, she said. “Then, it took off from there,” she said. The first closet event of this year will be from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, at the 256 E. Chicago St. church. Because it’s held bi-monthly, the next one will be in late March or early April. First Congregational Church’s clothing closet will be open from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 18. The church is located at 256 E. Chicago St. in Elgin. (Gloria Casas/The Courier-News) Schmied is assisted by the church’s Mission and Outreach Committee, which took the effort under its wing last year and has been a huge help, she said. There’s a lot of work involved, from gathering donations to sorting and evaluating clothing items to manning the event. The one thing she insists on, Schmied said, is that the clothing be in good condition. “I feel it’s about dignity. I like seeing people feel like they have dignity,” she said. Donations have been abundant, and at one point last year she had to stop taking items because they lacked space to store it all, Schmied said. While she doesn’t keep data on those who attend, Schmied said she thinks many are living paycheck to paycheck or have lost their jobs. And while inexpensive items can be purchased at places like Goodwill, some families still might not be able to afford it, she said. There’s no limit on the amount of clothing people can take, nor do they ask for identification. “I feel they need a place to go, no questions asked, and get clothes for their kids,” Schmied said. First Congregational Church in Elgin provides the space for a bimonthly clothing closet at which anyone is free to take as much as they like without having to prove need or provide identification. (Gloria Casas/The Courier-News) Some of those who come to the event are homeless and she’s heard some of their stories. “I’m not going to judge. If someone is in need, just help,” Schmied said. Todd Schmied said one man who attended one of their events rode his bike from Rockford in order to get a suit. Those are the kind of stories that keep them motivated, he said. The closet will also open their doors to people who’ve lost their belongings in fires. They planned to offer help to the residents of Elgin’s “tent city” homeless encampment, but there was an outpouring of donations after the two fires that occurred there that it was unnecessary, Dawn Schmied said. The community’s response was moving, she said. “It’s one of those little things that restores your faith in humanity because the community really came together,” Schmied said. “It’s very sad it’s such a need. We’ve grown because of the need. But it’s good to be able to help.” Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.