Never Judge a Heart by the Size of the Body

I recently met two inspiring young boys who have likely reshaped the lives of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people. Clothes4All International has now gained global attention thanks to the Internet and the caring hearts of these two New Jersey Boys.

Stevie S. and Tylor S. are 10 and 12 years old and their story is too inspiring not to share their work with Tonic readers.

Last summer, the two boys stopped at a local dry cleaner with their dad so he could pick up his uniform. While there, the boys noticed that the owner of the cleaners was throwing away eight bags of clothes left behind by customers who never paid or never returned to pick them up.

The boys asked the owner if they could have the clothes to give away to homeless people. The owner was persistent about collecting money for his "donation" so they asked Dad if they could forgo their allowance for a few weeks. They bought the clothes for $5 a bag.

When they left the dry cleaners, one of the boys noticed a sign with a woman holding a baby in her arms and a young boy standing next to her. Her sign read: “We escaped with nothing.”

The boys decided to give some of the clothes to them.

Their father then drove to the local domestic violence safe house and dropped off all remaining clothes.

Today, the boys collect clothes from over 25 dry cleaners monthly from around the state. Most owners know the boys well but a few still demand payment. The boys' overhead associated with the organization include fuel, storage and shipping. It does provide a service for people in need and it does help the Earth stay greener by limiting abandoned clothes headed for landfills.

The boys have distributed clothing to domestic violence shelters, homeless groups, disaster victims and a subsidiary of clothes4all called Coats4School.

If you are interested in learning more, an email or inspirational comment to the boys will help them to continue their work — or ask them how you can help their cause.

To contact Clothes4all International, email the boys at Clothes4all@gmail.com.