Clothes on Wheels: Making a Connection in the Community
Sanja Poitras and Clothes on Wheels connect those who have with those who need.
By Christiana Walter
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A young immigrant boy from Burma was arriving at his school in Surrey every day wearing shorts and sandals–in the dead of the Canadian winter. “This is a real problem for refugee families in the community,” says Sanja Poitras, Executive Director of Clothes on Wheels. “They come here with nothing and don’t have clothes suited to our climate.”
The school’s principle stepped in and reached out to Sanja to get the boy, among other things, a pair of shoes.
“He didn’t know how to tie the laces,” Sanja says. He’d never had any lace shoes, so Sanja helped him put on his shoes and watched him beam from ear to ear. “He was so happy. His face was transformed.”
Sanja Poitras, Executive Director of Clothes on Wheels.
Sanja and her husband, Marc, are all too familiar with moments like these. Through their non-profit, Clothes on Wheels, they have the opportunity to give shoes, coats and basic items of clothing to refugee families, immigrants, single moms, single dads and the regular family-next-door struggling to stretch their paycheques. Clothes on Wheels sets up a free, mobile shop in school gymnasiums for high-risk neighbourhoods in Surrey. A flyer is sent home with each child a week before the event and the Poitras are often flooded with calls about people in need. According to Sanja, this is exactly the point.
She says their goal is to build community, provide support for locals who might not have access to it, and identify specific needs. The Poitras’ and their team of volunteers are intentionally building relationships with people and learning about their unique needs. She and her husband have dropped off meals, provided furniture and even connected abused women and children with local safe-housing programs.
The organization that became Clothes on Wheels was originally a clothing exchange program run out of a portable at Hjoth Elementary School that Sanja came across when she was involved in Relate Church’s work with Surrey schools. The person who asked her to take over said: “I know it’s a lot to ask; don’t feel you have to.”
“I walked in there and it smelled like – well, you know what used clothes stores smell like – and I said ‘Yeah, I think I’m supposed to do this.’”
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“I needed clothes and you clothed me” – Matt. 25:36
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Today Clothes on Wheels partners with the Surrey School District to reach several inner city schools, with 66 schools involved in some way, either through donating or participating. Their volunteers include everyone from high school students filling their community service hours to those who have already been served through the program. For example: Sanja was surprised to see the young boy from Burma show up to help with an event. “I said to him: ‘You don’t need to be doing this,’ and he insisted that he wanted to help. I said, Well, now you’re going to make me cry!’”
Sanja adds: “You give people a little help and they want to give back when they have the chance.”
Clothes on Wheels plan to expand their services to locating job opportunities and helping people get back on their feet. “We don’t want this to be a hand-out,” she says. “We want to alleviate poverty and help give people dignity.”
Plans to expand Clothes on Wheels to schools in the Downtown Eastside are also in the works.
The same week I spoke to Sanja, I read an impassioned open letter to the City of Vancouver from a Downtown Eastside elementary school teacher on behalf of her high-needs students. The letter featured heavily in the news and resulted in an outpouring of support and donations from the city’s residents. Sanja mentioned this letter when I spoke with her and the impression both of these women left me with was their care and passion for the kids outside their backyard and the vulnerable people they share this little corner of the world with. Perhaps, also their belief in the power of community to help and heal.
“My favourite part of doing this is the chance to be a conduit between those with needs and those who want to help,” says Sanja. “Almost everybody has clothes they’d like to give away. We just help connect them with people who really need them.”
Simply put, Sanja says: “Clothes are a way to connect.”
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About Christi:
Christi has a Communications degree from Trinity Western University. She loves stories and feels privileged to have heard some truly incredible ones while interning at Childcare Canada. Christi hopes to figure out how she can best use her gifts to impact the world around her. Her greatest passions are writing and travel. She’s just come back from recent travels in Australia.
Photo credits: Christi, by Cecilia Flaming
