THE Clothing Bank, a local non-profit business, won the 2016 Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year award, a prestigious international honour for outstanding examples of social entrepreneurship.
In an effort to turn the tide on unemployment in South Africa, The Clothing Bank transforms the lives of unemployed mothers trapped in the cycle of poverty through entrepreneurship. Unemployed women with a strong desire to change their lives are taught business skills and are given access to clothes and other merchandise to purchase at a small cost and then sell to generate an income.
The clothes and merchandise are donated to the Clothing Bank by major South African retailers. The NPO then helps each woman to become a micro-retailer, empowering them to become self-employed and look after themselves and their families.
Since The Clothing Bank started six years ago, it has trained 1 135 single mothers to create their own micro-enterprises and collectively has helped garner a profit of more than R40-million, at an average of R4 100 each per month for each of the women.
As the largest contributor of donated clothes in the KwaZulu-Natal region, the Mr Price Group has significantly helped in contributing to the 2.7-million garments valued at more than over R167-million that the NPO received.
The Clothing Bank CEO, Tracey Chambers, said: “We are extremely grateful that so many of South Africa’s leading retailers have rallied behind The Clothing Bank. The success of our project, and the difference we are able to make to the lives of so many families, would not be possible without their ongoing, generous support. The award from the Schwab Foundation is an acknowledgement of this.”
