Bags Of Love: Kids Kloset Charity Celebrates New Home

NORTH WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- It started a decade ago, with a well-meaning mom trying to help a family with a newborn. Thousands of families later, a Westchester County charity has a new home -- and a passion for providing fashion to kids of all ages.

It comes in by the bagful, gets sorted into bins, selected with care and then packed with precision.

A week's worth of cool clothes, another bag of love from Kids Kloset.

"The mission for Kids Kloset is to provide clothing and baby essentials to children in need, but to do that with care, and the goal is to increase confidence and self-esteem with the child," Kids Kloset founder Stephanie Roth told CBS2's Tony Aiello.

County Executive George Latimer was on hand on Thursday and cut the ribbon, as Kids Kloset celebrated its big new home in North White Plains.

There is enough space for a mind-boggling number of clothing bins, hundreds of shoes and coats for the upcoming winter.

"This bag is a fall bag. We pack a bag for each season," Roth said.

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Roth said she never imagined her effort to help a single needy family would grow to this -- 17,000 bags of clothes provided over 10 years. Some of it is new and all of it is clean. Volunteers pick and pack every piece with TLC.

The word "stylish" is even in the Kids Kloset mission statement. Many of the volunteers have a keen eye for fashion. They pack clothes that match, not clash.

Family members told CBS2's Aiello it makes a huge difference in the lives of the kids.

"It makes her feel loved. It makes her feel special, and like I mentioned, she is like a diva. She always has something on," client Katherine Bonnet said. "The day she got her bag of love, she really did feel that love."

There are empty hangers ready for more donations, at a charity where caring is always in fashion.

Clothing drives at many schools help fill the bins at Kids Kloset, which also gets new apparel donated by stores and manufacturers.