About Windfall
Founded in 1991 to assist homeless and emergency shelters meet their clients’ needs for new clothing, Windfall, an award-winning registered charity, receives donations of new clothing and other basic-needs items from manufacturers, retailers and distributors and distributes them through partnerships with over 90 social service agencies in the Toronto Area. This is a crucial social service – averaging approximately $10 million (retail) worth of new items going to those who need them most. Many of these items would have ended up in landfill sites.
Windfall assists our most vulnerable citizens while they are working to improve their life circumstances by participating in programs offered by our partner agencies. These agencies include: shelters for homeless women, children and men; shelters for abused women and their children; reception centres for refugees; transitional and supportive housing for psychiatric patients and disabled people; community centres; and job training and placement programs.
MISSION STATEMENT
Windfall acquires new clothing and other basic-needs items and distributes these items to social service agencies for the purpose of alleviating poverty and fostering human dignity. Consequently, Windfall raises awareness of poverty as a social issue.
VISION STATEMENT
All people in the communities we serve have the basic necessities for a dignified life.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Joan Clayton and Ina Andre founded Windfall Clothing Service in 1991. Drawing from their previous experience founding Second Harvest, a food recovery program, they became aware of the urgent need for decent clothing for clients of social service agencies. The soundness of their idea has been proven by the tremendous success of Windfall.
Initially, Windfall was housed in donated office space, with clothing kept in a rented storage unit. In 1994, Mary Black of Colour Technologies offered a warehouse space to Windfall on a temporary basis. By 1996, Windfall was receiving and distributing more than 9,000 pieces of clothing per month and the shipping facilities could no longer handle the volume safely. The time the staff spent shuttling between Bloor St. (where our offices then were) and Front St. (where the warehouse was) had become frustrating and wasteful. In February 1997, Windfall moved into its current location at 530 Adelaide Street West. The office and warehouse were brought together in 5,700 square feet of rented space complete with industry-standard loading docks large enough to accommodate tractor trailers. By the end of 1998, annual clothing donations had jumped to 170,000 pieces and in the first six months of 1999 to 123,000! By 2005, clothing donations had reached the 250,000 piece level. The growth in donations has always been matched by a continued growth in the needs of social service agencies.
Windfall has always worked on a spartan budget, yet in 2002 alone we distributed over four million dollars worth of new clothing to social service agencies in Toronto. We have accomplished this through our generous donors and by forming partnerships with businesses and other agencies. From 1995- 2003, TNT Texport picked up and delivered over 1,000,000 pieces of clothing donations to Windfall at no charge, a donation of service worth about $100,000. In March 2003, following Texport’s close of business, Windfall entered into a new transport relationship with Remco Group. The Canadian Apparel Federation distributes our newsletter and helps us reach more of the industry that we dependent upon. Harmony Printing sets up and prints our newsletter. Marcam Printers assist us with printing of our information materials andour insurance is donated by Chris Steer Insurance Company. Volunteers serve on our Board of Directors, work in our warehouse, help at fund-raising events, and in our office. A team of developmentally challenged job-trainees from Community Living Toronto works in our warehouse performing such practical tasks as unpacking, counting, sorting and removing labels from clothing. We also offer job training placements to clients of our partner agencies who are looking for work training or Canadian work experience. In 2006, a strategic review based on research and community consultations resulted in an exciting program expansion to include personal care items, school backpacks and small household goods.
In 1996 Windfall was honoured with a national distinction, The New Spirit of Community Award. The Canadian Centre for Philanthropy chose Windfall that year as one of the five best business/charity partnerships in Canada. Subsequent awards include: Vital People Award (Toronto Community Foundation), Vital Ideas Award (Toronto Community Foundation), Lifetime Volunteer Award – Joan Clayton (FLARE magazine), Harlequin More Than Words Award (Harlequin Enterprises).
WHO DOES WINDFALL SERVE?
Windfall’s mission is simple and measurable – to provide new, donated clothing and other basic-needs items (at no cost) to people living in poverty or crisis resulting in a boost their self-esteem and increased opportunities for improving their lives. The items are distributed through partnerships with 96 social service agencies across the Greater Toronto Area. Agencies must apply for partnership every two years and meet the following criteria:
- Be a registered charity
- Be located inToronto
- Have a well-defined need for new clothes
- Have transportation to pick up clothes from our warehouse
- Have a secure storage facility
- Distribute clothing to clients in an meaningful and democratic fashion
- Sign an agreement that donated clothes will not be sold
The selection committee, comprised of members of Windfall’s Board of Directors, also ensures the chosen agencies help a broad cross-section of people including:
- homeless men, women and children
- abused women and their children
- families and children living in poverty
- children and adults affected by AIDS
- at-risk youth, including runaways and teenage mothers
- immigrants and refugees
- recovering substance abusers
- people with physical or mental disabilities
- people enrolled in job training or job search programs
