Raising money with your wardrobe

Please note: this post is 117 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

A few months ago I gingerly began planning how to raise money for South London Cares after signing up to walk 50km for the Thames Path Challenge. I wanted to find a way to make donating money fun, rewarding and with benefits for the people kindly giving their cash to us.

Cue the humble clothes swap. I invited ten friends to spend a grey Saturday afternoon at my house to swap their pre-loved clothes for someone else's. You clear your wardrobe of the things you no longer love, and buy someone else's which you do love. It's exciting to go home with half a new wardrobe, and for all the profits to be going to a local cause.

Here's my guide to holding your own clothes swap and raising money for South London Cares:

Decide a date and time, and invite friends by email or on Facebook. Three hours on a weekend works well!
Set up a fundraising page on Everyclick - easier than it sounds. Promise.
Explain how it works on the invitation. Each person should aim to bring about five to ten items (clothes, jewellery, shoes, bags...) and to think of quality over quantity.
Tell your friends what their money will do; quantify their donation. For instance, £10 could give a Love Your Neighbour match a day out in their local community; £20 donation could fund a social club – such as a film night, tech workshop or games evening – from start to finish. It really helps them to picture where their money is going.
On the day, start off by laying out all the items on a spare bed, sofa or clothes rack. Your friends can browse each other's wares for an hour or so, trying anything on and setting aside their favourite pieces.
Once everyone has browsed and settled with their favourite pieces, the selling and swapping can begin. The host will take each item in turn to ask the group if anyone would like to bid on it. Bidding for clothes could start at £2, for jewellery or accessories £1. Increasing the bids at 50p a time works well - but if there's a special item, feel free to change the rules!
Keep a note of how much each person has spent, so you can tell people what they've raised at the end.
When all items are sold, and donations paid on your fundraising page – celebrate! Tell your followers on social media what you've achieved and why: we're @SouthLDNCares and facebook.com/southlondoncares.

Raising money for South London Cares enables us to offer new, fun experiences for older south Londoners who want to make new connections in their community. Your friends might even be tempted to sign up to volunteer. We're always looking to welcome more young professionals into our network to help keep our older neighbours feeling valued and cared for.