Note in the Pocket: Clothing with Care

In this episode of Oak City Move, Sophs talks to Meg Carpenter, a director of the Note in the Pocket foundation. Note in the Pocket strives to provide families and children in need with clothes that make them feel like their best selves. They strive to protect the dignity and identity of these families by making sure every article of clothing is in great conditions and even try and match certain colors or superheroes to the children that love them. They work with a lot of other nonprofit groups in the area to make sure that needs are met and even practice excellent sustainability by recycling clothes that dont live up to standards. Listen for more information and to hear this amazing conversation about how to help those in need.

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Creators and Guests

Host

Sophs Magnanini

What is Oak City Move?

A radio program and podcast from WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 celebrating those who enact positive changes in the Raleigh community.

00:00
Sophia Magnanini
Oak City Move is a podcast on WKNC 88.1 FM HD1 Raleigh, where we highlight people and organizations creating positive change in the Triangle and beyond. Oak City Move can be heard on air every Other Monday on 88.1 FM HD1 Raleigh or online at wknc.org Listen for episodes and more information, go to our blog at blog.wknc.org or follow us on SoundCloud at wknc8801. Hello, 88.1 WKNC Raleigh. The song you just heard was Sweaty linen by Surf Ninja 3. I'm Sophia Magnanini, your host and you're listening to Oak City Move. Today we are joined by a very special guest, Meg Carpenter, one of the directors of NOTEIP in the Pocket. So if you wanted to just kind of explain for listeners who may not be familiar what NOTEIP in the Pocket is and how did the organization get its start.

01:00
Meg Carpenter
Oh my gosh. Well, thank you so much for having me. So as so said, I am Meg Carpenter. I am our development director. So all things fundraising and community engagement and all of that good stuff. But NOTEIP in the Pocket is a local nonprofit that supports children and their families who are facing clothing insecurity. So our mission is to provide clothing with dignity and love to children who are homeless and impoverished. And we also close their families as well. We do that by working with the social workers at the school systems both in WKNC county and Durham County. And so they refer students to us. We build a mini wardrobe which is five tops. Excuse me, ten tops, five bottoms, brand new socks and underwear and a pair of tennis shoes and a jacket.

01:55
Meg Carpenter
And that is all packaged up all nice and neat and then sent directly to the student so they don't have to go pick it up at school. And everyone knows that they're the kid that's getting clothes from NOTEIP in the Pocket. It's sent directly to their front door. So that's that dignity that's really nice.

02:10
Sophia Magnanini
Especially keeping it kind of private. So just because I know kids will be kids and sometimes you don't want them to have to feel even or like they have to hide anything or. Which is really sweet.

02:23
Meg Carpenter
Yeah, absolutely.

02:25
Sophia Magnanini
So when did the organization start and how has it kind of seen it grown and evolved since its founding?

02:32
Meg Carpenter
Yeah. Well, this is a super exciting time to have this conversation because it started 20 years ago. So it started as a family ministry, a teacher in the Durham county school systems, and she noticed that her students were not prepared for school in general. They were coming to school Tired, they were coming to school hungry. And they were coming to school with clothes that either didn't fit them, were dirty, or were ripped or stained or what have you. And so her and her mom were talking about what they can do to support her students. And obviously they wanted to do everything to take away all the problems, but they knew that wouldn't be feasible. But they knew they could do one thing.

03:20
Meg Carpenter
And so it was around this time of year, so it was getting colder, and yet her students were still coming in with short sleeve T shirts and shorts and flip flops. And so they decided to ask their neighbors and their family friends and go through their own closets as well as go to bargain stores and get a coat for each student in the class. So she gets a coat for every single student and she brings it into the classroom and it's like the best day ever. They finally have a coat, they're feeling warm, and it's just boosting their confidence. But the next day, half of those students returned their coats. And it's because their parents were concerned about where this coat came from. Did you take it from someone's cubby?

04:09
Meg Carpenter
You know, if someone gave it to you, no one's just going to give you a coat. So now we owe someone something. We can't afford to pay them that you have to return this coat. So to ensure that didn't happen, her and her mom made these notes and put it in the pocket of the coat to say, this is a gift. This is for you. You deserve this coat because you are a human and you deserve to be warm just like everyone else. This is not something that you had to earn. And it sparked this movement. So what started with one kindergarten class turned into the next year, both kindergarten classes in the school and then the entire school. And now we serve both Durham county and WKNC county public schools. All of the schools, all the schools and vote systems.

05:00
Meg Carpenter
And so we've been doing that now since 2005. So 2013 is when we got our official 501C3. So that's when we became an official nonprofit. But we've been doing this work for 20 years.

05:13
Sophia Magnanini
That's awesome. And it's so sweet to hear and very wholesome that the origin story of it, note in the pocket, did really come from note in the pockets and also just her want to help her class. And then now it's spread and so many different kids are now being able to get that same help. It's just really sweet.

05:33
Meg Carpenter
And yes. And we still provide a note with Each mini wardrobe. So not a note in every single pocket of pants or, you know, whatever, but they still receive a card that says, you are loved from note in the pocket. So that is still a tradition that we follow with.

05:50
Sophia Magnanini
That's so sweet. And I bet it does just make them feel a little better, like someone's looking out for us, someone cares for my family, for my child, and it just has to be some. Such a nice relief, a little weight off their shoulders. You were saying it kind of earlier, but why do you think that access to proper clothing is such a critical, yet often overlooked need for students and families?

06:13
Meg Carpenter
Yeah. So growing up, I was taught that the most basic needs, the three things that you have to have, are food, clothing, and shelter. We have so many programs that focus on food, whether they're government programs like WIC and snap, or whether there are other nonprofits in our community that focus on that. We also have housing programs also that are some that are government funded, others that are nonprofits that specifically focus on that. And absolutely, those are two huge things that you need, and those are more immediate needs than clothing. However, clothing is still in basic need that everyone has. And we are the only clothing and security nonprofit focused on children in both WKNC county and Durham County. The reason this is important is because if you do not have clothing, you are going to feel very uncomfortable.

07:15
Meg Carpenter
And whatever you are wearing or you might not even have the clothes to go to school. So we have heard stories of children who are sharing shoes between their siblings, so they take turns going to school. So that means half of the time a student is missing school because they don't have shoes. We hear other students stories of students getting bullied relentlessly because of the clothes that they have, whether again, they're dirty or stained. If you are uncomfortable in your clothes, I know I get this way where it's almost like I hyper fixate on it and I can't focus on anything that's in front of me. If my shoes are too tight, if my sweatshirt or sweater is too tight, or if it's itchy, or if I can kind of smell it, whatever it is, that is where my focus is.

08:05
Meg Carpenter
It's not on work. And for these children, it's not on school. So they're missing those valuable lessons. They feel like they can't participate socially because they're embarrassed or they have to defend themselves. And so then they become bullies so that no one will mess with them or they just don't go to school at all. So all of those things are continuing Generational poverty. And it's not setting up our students for success. So if we can get them a pair of shoes that fit and feel comfortable, if we can get them clothes that are clean and are, if we receive enough information like their favorite colors or cartoon characters, then we're able to kind of personalize their many wardrobes to that.

08:48
Meg Carpenter
So it's something they feel confident in and something that's their size, something that feels good so that they're not focused and distracted by that. They're focused on their schoolwork and they feel like they can branch out socially. So what ends up happening is a lot of families will understandably so, spend their money on food and housing. Right. Again, those are immediate needs. And so they're going to make their children's clothes last as long as they can, even if they are damaged. And so we try to fill that gap and make sure that they don't even have to worry about making them last longer and feeling uncomfortable that they can still be confident and comfortable.

09:29
Sophia Magnanini
That's incredible. Especially that you guys are kind of the only nonprofit clothing foundation in the area. I feel like clothing, like you were saying, although it might below food and shelter is still a very important thing that is needed. And like you're saying, I feel like especially for kids, some clothing is kind of what you wear is kind of like an identity. And so like you were saying, if they don't feel comfortable in it, then they aren't kind of feeling comfortable with themselves and it could lead to all these different things. So it's really awesome that you're helping them, especially like you're saying like finding their colors or something. They like, really helping make it like personal and make sure that they are able to get the most out of school in general.

10:13
Sophia Magnanini
But could you walk us through kind of how the clothing donations go from like being dropped off to them being provided to the family?

10:21
Meg Carpenter
Yes. So let's say you dropped off a bag of clothes that you have gone, you've gone through your closet. You've said, I don't wear this shirt or this pair of pants. I'm going to put it in a bag. I'm going to drop it off at note in the pocket. So you drive up, that bag gets put in one of our drop off bins, and then that bin goes to the back of our building. And this is the same for both WKNC county and Durham county. And it goes through a process called First Sort. So First Sort is where we have a lot of volunteers come in and Support us. And it's exactly what it sounds like.

11:00
Meg Carpenter
So you're going through those bags of clothes and you're picking out any clothes that have stains or rips or holes, any ones that have logos or religious things that they can't be worn by a majority of people. So they go through that process first. Whatever is left and is in good condition then goes to second sword. Now, those that don't make it to second sort, we will do a couple things with them. One, we have a recycling program and so we will recycle those clothes and we actually make money off of that. So if they're not ending up in a landfill, but they're being recycled and used in another way. So that's great. If we have something that's super nice, but it's not either school appropriate or maybe it has a monogram or something like that, we will either consign it.

11:55
Meg Carpenter
So again, another way for us to make revenue, or we will work with partner organizations and donate that and then they can use it to maybe make a pillow or something like that. So no clothes, unless they are incredibly dirty and like a biohazard, end up in the trash. They all end up somewhere else. Which is one of the things that I was just most impressed by when I was in the process of learning about note. But the clothes that. Excuse me, clothes that make it to second sort, again, it's exactly what it sounds like. So we have these bags of clothes that have been sorted once and now you're in a smaller room with desk lights.

12:36
Meg Carpenter
So you can look at the clothes directly under the lights and get a better sense of, oh, actually this one does have a little stain on it. Or oh, this one does have a tiny lip in it and that's going to end up becoming bigger over time. Maybe it's really pilled or maybe it's perfectly fine. Maybe something slipped in that was supposed to be, you know, gotten rid of during first sort or put in recycling during first sort, anything like that. So we get another sort. Then all the clothes that make it through that round go to folding and then fulfillment. So we have volunteers who are super dedicated and come every single week to fold clothes.

13:18
Meg Carpenter
And they fold them in a very specific way so that they fill up our fulfillment shelves in a neat and compact way so that we can put as many clothes on there as possible. And then they're labeled too, so that our fulfillment team knows what size they are, what gender they're for, if they're long sleeve or short sleeve, anything like that. So they End up. And so that's also another touch point. Right. It's another place where they can say, oh, actually there is a little hole here. Let's recycle that one. And this is all part of that dignity piece. So each item of clothing is looked at least three times before it hits the shelves. So we are only giving children the best of the best clothes that come in through our facility. So then they're folded.

14:08
Meg Carpenter
And then we have staff and volunteers who put our many wardrobes together for each student. So they go down the aisles and they pick out the clothes. And depending on how much information we have for the student, we're able to curate it a little bit more. Otherwise, we try to keep it pretty basic so that it's something that anyone would enjoy and love to wear and feel good.

14:31
Sophia Magnanini
Now that's awesome. Especially how much work. Because I can only imagine the time that it takes to go through each one. But just to ensure once again that, like, the dignity that they have. Clothes that feel new, feel nice, like they won't get possibly anyone say something to them at school to make them feel some type of way, which. And also it's so awesome that you guys are recycling the ones you don't use or helping give it to other things is really awesome. I feel like there's a lot of times where people just kind of discard things, especially clothes, like you're saying. And like landfills, like clothing is a big problem. So recycling is just really awesome. And I love how many people go into it. And it just shows how much everyone cares.

15:14
Meg Carpenter
And our volunteer leaders make first sort where we'll have big volunteer groups from corporate partners or religious groups or student groups. They make it so fun. They put on music. They will sometimes do little competitions of like, who finds the funniest things, because sometimes things will slip into the donation bag. So we have some stuffed animals sometimes or, you know, just funny things like that. So they just make it really fun for the volunteer groups that come in. And volunteer groups are one of the most important part of our operation. We can't do it without them. So we're super lucky to not only have staff that's super dedicated, but also volunteers.

15:53
Sophia Magnanini
Perfect. I know this kind of. I was going to ask this a little later, but it kind of leads into it. What other roles besides just the sorting do volunteers help play at the note in the pocket?

16:04
Meg Carpenter
Yeah, so we have lots of volunteers who host clothing drives for us. That's super popular this time of year. But we have volunteers from again, some of our corporate partners and religious groups and student groups who host, volunteer or excuse me, host clothing drives on our behalf. So that's an option. We have second sort volunteers. So first and second we have folding volunteers and then we also have fulfillment volunteers. So fulfillment volunteers are trained to put together those mini wardrobes. So again, there's thought and processes that go into putting together these mini wardrobes. It's not just a bunch of T shirts and pants that are put together and into one bag for the student. So we have those opportunities. We have some volunteer opportunities that are based on events.

16:54
Meg Carpenter
So we just had our gala which was super fun and we had some volunteers help us with that. Whether it was with guiding people from the parking deck to the event space, opening up the doors, making sure people knew where things were, things like that. And then we'll have our 5 pay and the spring. But we also rely heavily on volunteers for that and that all those events help us raise money so that we can put more clothes on the shelves and then provide more clothing to the children of WKNC and Durham counties. So yeah, there's so many ways to get involved. And if you know, you need something that where you're sitting down, if you need something where you're sitting, standing up, anything like that, we can make that work.

17:36
Sophia Magnanini
That's awesome. Especially, yeah. The multiple different like roles where it's like if you volunteer, you don't have to be just be doing one specific thing. There's so many different opportunities. And also just so nice to hear that they will like put on these drives on yalls behalf or like help. It's just like a great community effort. It's really nice to see it here.

17:55
Meg Carpenter
Yeah.

17:56
Sophia Magnanini
Kind of going back to when you're talking about schools earlier. Do you partner with schools or other community organizations and if so, how do these partnerships kind of work and how do they help Support?

18:08
Meg Carpenter
Yeah. So we partner with both the Durham county public school system and the WKNC county public school system. And we work with their social workers. So their social workers will identify students at their schools who need clothes. Sometimes it's the parents calling the social workers saying, my child can't come to school. They don't have proper clothing. Sometimes it's the social worker who's identifying the child and we never know the child's name or race. We only know their gender, their age and their size. So we don't know anything else. And we don't need to know anything else in order to clothe a child. We just want to make sure that they get the best quality clothing that fits them, so they will refer those children to us. We get just that information. And then we fill orders based on that.

18:58
Meg Carpenter
Or, excuse me, we fill clothing requests based on that. We also work with several nonprofit partners who will also refer children to us for many wardrobes. So it's not just the social workers, but yes, we also partner with a lot of nonprofits in this area. And one thing I always say is that the tribal nonprofit scene is so special. We all work together so well because we know that poverty and homelessness and anything like that need is. It's so multifunctional and factional. And so there's not one size fits all solution.

19:39
Meg Carpenter
And so if you have nonprofits that specialize in different areas, whether it be food, housing, clothing, education, any sort of support, if we can work together to make sure that the families that go through those nonprofits are getting the best of the best from people who wake up thinking about whatever their area is, I think that's how we make sure that our community is closed and fed and housed and has the support that they need for education and things like that. And so we have just such a special nonprofit community here in the triangle where we do that and we work together and we make sure that our community is taken care of.

20:23
Sophia Magnanini
That's awesome. Just especially the communication between everyone. And like you were saying, just one organization can't solve a family's problems. Like, it is a lot of, like, working together. And so that's really nice that you guys are just all kind of to. Just to help the community that we live in. Do you guys. What are some challenges that the note in the pocket faces or kind of. Have you noticed any trends or changes since, like the pandemic or anything of the sorts?

20:52
Meg Carpenter
Yeah, well, so when the pandemic started, we had to shift completely and we started doing something called pocket pop ups. And so that is where we will go to a community event. We are invited by the community or the neighborhood to be there. So it's not something we plan, it's something we're invited to. And we will set up essentially a yard sale. But everything is free, so no one has to purchase anything. And whoever is coming, the families and children that are coming, they can pick out the clothes themselves and they can take as much as they need or want. So we started doing that during COVID in order to make sure clothes were going out. One thing we talked a little bit about earlier was recycling. And we are noticing a trend with fast fashion in particular.

21:40
Meg Carpenter
And how when we receive fast fashion donations from people. Sometimes the quality is not good enough. And sometimes you're going through it and it's ripping or it's pilled really heavily, and so we can't pass it on. So I think that's something. And then, you know, if they. If they're not donated to us, then they're probably thrown away. Like, then we talked about, you know, that ending up in a landfill. So that's, in general, something. A trend that we've noticed. And also, I mean, there, the need for clothes is growing, and so we have a long list of people who need our help, and we are working as hard as we can to make sure that we get everyone that support. You know, we always need more clothes. We always need more hands supporting us and helping us.

22:30
Meg Carpenter
And then as the development director, I have to say, we always need funding. Right? We always need funding to purchase more clothes, to fill in the gaps of the clothing that we don't get. So there are some sizes that just go super fast because they're super popular. And a lot of kids that in that age range need those clothes, those sizes. And so we have to fill in those gaps and make sure that, you know, we still have our shelves stocked with that. So we're making those purchases, and we need funding to do that. We need funding for the staff to put together those mini wardrobes, our staff to be volunteer groups to make sure that only the best of the best clothes end up on our shelves. So I would say, I mean, I think we handle all of it really beautifully.

23:15
Meg Carpenter
And again, we don't do it just by ourselves. We have volunteers, we do have donors and funders. And I think that's something any nonprofit would say, is that the need is growing with this economic climate, and we just want to make sure that we are helping as many people as we can.

23:31
Sophia Magnanini
Yeah, like you were saying during the pandemic, I feel like it's really hard, especially for other families to reach out. And then also the need is just kind of growing, and with the fast fashion and all of that, it's kind of hard because, yeah, like, the donations that you're getting, some of them might not be good enough to give to other families. So that's really nice that, yeah, you guys are kind of overcoming this and, like, working together. But if any listeners wanted to volunteer or fund or anything, would you want to kind of tell them how they could do that?

24:05
Meg Carpenter
Yes, absolutely. So we are looking for volunteers both in Durham county and WKNC county for both of our locations. If you are interested in volunteering, you can go to our website. We have a link where you can sign up to volunteer. And we have shifts for almost every single day, Monday through Saturday. So we're. Yes. We even have Saturday open for volunteer opportunities, which I think is super cool. And we have morning and afternoon shifts available, so whatever your schedule allows. But yeah, I would just say go to our website. And then we also have a staff port. And so if you have any questions, we have a director of volunteer engagement. So they're direct, so any questions can be directed to them as well.

24:50
Meg Carpenter
But we try to make it as easy as possible for not just individuals, but groups to sign up so that, you know, they're excited and they want to come back.

25:00
Sophia Magnanini
That's awesome. Yeah, especially the different schedule on Saturdays, because it's like some people might be working during the week and they want to help out. And so Saturday is the only option. So that's really nice. And just helping people work around with their schedule. It's awesome. As we kind of come up on the end of our chat, what is accomplishment or milestone that the organization is most proud about? I know you just said you guys hit your 20 years, so if there's anything else.

25:31
Meg Carpenter
I would say having two locations in the Triangle is something that we are just so proud of, and we just want to make sure that our community continues to thrive. So the Triangle, again, I've mentioned that it's special in the nonprofit space, but we have so many people who maybe live in WKNC county, work in Durham county, or vice versa. So people are driving all throughout the Triangle every single day. So the fact that we're able to clothe children, and maybe not just the community you live, but the community that you work in and spend a lot of your time in, I think that's something that we are super proud of, and that we're able to provide that support to communities all throughout the Triangle when needed.

26:19
Sophia Magnanini
That's awesome. Yeah. Because especially, like you're saying, if they travel a lot or even if, like, they don't, they will have one that might be closer to them, that it will be much easier for them to go to if they need anything. And if you could debunk one misconception about clothing donation programs or poverty, what would it be?

26:44
Meg Carpenter
I love this question. And I would say that poverty is, like I said earlier, very multifaceted. And a lot of people who are homeless. Sorry, my phone's ringing. If I have to re. Answer this. I would say that a lot of people who are homeless or who are experiencing home and poverty. They work. They are working all day, every day. They do have jobs. It's that those jobs don't pay enough on top of the fact that cost of living is rising. So it's not that our community isn't working and giving back, but it's that things are just really. It's hard. And so, yeah, I would say. I would say that. And that everyone needs these basic needs. And that's. It's not a privilege, it's a right. And so we try to, again, make sure that we're providing only the best quality things.

27:46
Meg Carpenter
I think sometimes there's this idea of, well, you know, people who are experiencing clothing insecurities, they'll just be happy with anything. But that's not the case. I think we all have preferences, and it's okay to have preferences. And so the more we're able to lean into those preferences means that the children and their families who receive our clothing are feeling more confident, and then they're more likely to be able to break that generational poverty.

28:13
Sophia Magnanini
So, yeah, no, that's awesome. And also, I totally agree. I feel like there's this huge misconception, especially around maybe the more privileged, where they think poverty is like, oh, you. You're just being lazy or something, like, get a job. Or like, we're. But it is like, you're saying they do have jobs, probably multiple in a lot of cases, and still just aren't able to provide because of costs. And so it's really awesome that, yeah, you guys are helping and helping them keep that dignity because it probably is a lot to have to ask other people for help. And so for you guys making it such a nice thing. Thing. And like, they don't have to feel down about asking for this help is extremely special.

28:58
Meg Carpenter
Yeah, I. I feel so honored that I get to be a part of this organization and push the mission forward. And I think we want to see clothing insecurity programs all throughout the nation. And so giving us an opportunity to talk to you today to tell us our story and about what we do, that's a part of it. So thank you for being a partner in that way and for helping us.

29:21
Sophia Magnanini
Of course. Of course. And if you. If there's anything else that you want to mention before we end, or if you guys wanted to shout out Instagram pages or websites, whatever.

29:33
Meg Carpenter
Yeah. So you can visit our [e-mail] and then let me make sure I get our Instagram handles correctly. And our Instagram handle is Just note in the pocket. So super easy. And I believe it's the same for Facebook and Threads or Twitter or whatever it's called now and then. I just want to thank all of our community partners and our corporate partners and the individuals who come and support us. And I also want to extend an invitation to anyone who hasn't heard of us to learn more and come and volunteer and spend some time with us. And, you know, I hope that they have a great experience and want to get more involved, but we're just so grateful to be in this community that works so hard together and to have people that believe in us and continue to invest in us.

30:25
Meg Carpenter
So just thank you and we invite you to learn more.

30:29
Sophia Magnanini
That's awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming in and chat with me, because what you guys do is so incredibly important. And how you guys do it also is something that I think a lot of people should kind of see and understand and kind of take. Take heed from that to do what you guys are doing, because it's really awesome and special.

30:51
Meg Carpenter
Thank you so much. Oh, my gosh. Well, thank you for having us.

30:54
Sophia Magnanini
No, yeah, of course. Well, I just want to thank you all for listening and especially a big thank you for Megan to come on and talk about everything. NOTEIP in the Pocket is a very special organization and. And I think you guys should all go check it out. Volunteer if you want. Come on. Help the community. Thank you all for listening to Oak City Move once again. I'm your host, Soph Magnanini, and if you're interested in listening to this episode again or to past episodes of the show, you can go to wknc.org podcast and make sure to tune into our show every other Monday on WKNC 88.1 FM Raleigh. Have a great day, y'. All.