JN Burnett Secondary’s Fashion for Compassion club has proven that there’s no age barrier to creating meaningful change. This spring, 17-year-old student, Sarah who is the president of Fashion for Compassion along with the club’s vice president Crystal, collaborated with Interact club members Hailey, Carol, Kaillee and Tracy to launch a school-wide clothing drive that united students and staff in support of The Salvation Army Thrift Store.
“It all started with a shared goal,” Sarah explains. Fashion for Compassion found inspiration for the drive after visiting The Salvation Army Thrift Store’s website and reading about community donation events. “We wanted to create an event throughout our school community that combined sustainability with social impact. And to ensure that gently used clothing could be accessed by those who need it most.” The group aligned with the Thrift Store’s own values and goals—especially around extending the lifecycle of secondhand clothing and making a meaningful difference.
Cardboard donation boxes were placed in classrooms across the school, and every week, volunteers visited each room to collect and sort donations. To encourage school participation, Fashion for Compassion created a unique point-based incentive system. Each donated item earned students’ “points”—for example, shirts were worth 5 points, while jackets were worth 25 or more, depending on quality. At the end of the drive, the class with the highest point total won a pizza party, while second and third place enjoyed ice cream sandwiches. The friendly competition encouraged strong involvement from both students and teachers.
Organizing the clothing drive was truly a team effort, with enthusiastic participation from many students throughout the campaign. Sarah helped design awareness posters, distribute and collect donation boxes from classrooms each week, and sort through clothing items, in addition to planning and coordinating the event. While Crystal provided the donation boxes and supported poster design and sorting, the Interact club played an integral role in advertising on social media as well as the implementation of the fundraiser. Hailey and Carol took on the tasks of collecting donations and carefully sorting each piece. Tracy and Kaillie assisted with distributing boxes at the start of the campaign.
Altogether, the team collected an impressive 40 bags of clothing, including coats, accessories, and even some brand-new items. Volunteers made sure items were free of damage before passing them along. Donations were stored in one central resource room until a truck from The Salvation Army Thrift Store arrived to pick everything up.
“It was a big reminder that making a difference isn’t a big, scary thing—it’s a tangible one. It’s something a group of kids can come together to do. And we’ve seen firsthand how donating something as simple as a coat can really make a difference in someone’s life,” said Sarah.
With young leaders like Sarah and the dedicated student volunteers at JN Burnett Secondary, the future of community service looks bright.
If you are interested in hosting a hosehold goods or clothing donation drive, getting started is easy—just complete our online form. A member of our team will connect with you to provide support, guidance, and helpful resources to make your event a success.
