Cary mom collects baby clothes for nonprofit Loved Twice

Christina Kodesh knew she wanted to give back to her community.

The mom of two young kids moved to Cary with her husband about a year ago from northern Virginia. She found a way she could help after reading an article in a parenting magazine about a nonprofit called Loved Twice.

The group, which is based in the San Francisco Bay area, started in 2005. Founder Lisa Klein heard about an online appeal from Louisiana for baby clothing after Hurricane Katrina. Klein had just had her first child and knew she needed to help. In four days, she collected 200 pounds of baby clothes. She also realized that she could help out needy moms in her own state.

Kodesh looked up the group after reading the article and contacted organizers to see if they'd be interested in starting a branch in North Carolina. They were. Now Kodesh is just starting the work to collect baby clothes for distribution.

The nonprofit doesn't give clothes to individuals. Instead, it boxes up a years worth of clothes in sizes newborn to 12 months to give to social workers and agencies who work with families in need. Each new mom gets a box, based on the gender of her child, with about 75 pieces of clothing, including some hats, socks and a small board book.

"It's a basic wardrobe for a child's first year of life," Kodesh tells me.

Kodesh is looking for business such as consignment stores, who have extra inventory on hand, and moms groups, who want to hold their own clothing drives. She's happy to take the clothes off your hands, sort them and box them up. All donations are tax deductible.

She's looking only for new or gently used clothing in sizes newborn to 12 months.

For more about Loved Twice, click here. If you are interested in helping Kodesh, send her an email at nclovedtwice@yahoo.com. And watch the video to hear more from Kodesh.