Magic Valley Clothing Swap event held in Twin Falls

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — This afternoon, the Magic Valley Clothing Swap’s annual adult event was held at the Twin Falls YMCA.

One of the volunteers, Canyon Ridge High School Junior Brooklyn Lavin, helped with the event as an advance on her senior project.

“I just really, I love doing community service and stuff and helping other people. It just feels really good,” says Lavin. “To be involved in this and with all these ladies who are so much older than me and have so much more experience in life. Them teaching me all these new things is really amazing.”

Seven years ago, the event began when a group of moms decided they wanted to have a sort of trade, seeing that they always got their kids new clothes, but their wardrobe was never refreshed. So, they began to gather and trade their usable, but older clothes.

In the years that followed the event grew, it now even includes men’s clothing and a whole separate event for children, and the stories have grown with it.

“There was a mom who lost her baby and all of the baby’s clothes went to the clothing swap,” says coordinator Mia McConnell. “She didn’t come to get anything; she just stood there and watched her kid’s clothes being used and it gave her calm and peace, that her child’s clothes were able to be used.”

For event organizers like McConnell, the opportunity to impact her community and watch the positivity it spreads is what keeps her coming back and working so hard to keep the event alive.

“It’s like a mosaic, right? It’s a bunch of little pieces,” says McConnell, “a bunch of little stories all puts into one big picture which is our community.”

The next event, the children’s clothing swap, is scheduled for July 24. You can find more information on the MV Clothing Swap Facebook page.

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