Donate Your Clothing this Weekend, and Feel Great About It

Mine & Yours will be collecting used clothing this Sunday to support female-run retail startups in East Africa.

A clothing drive party on Sunday is taking a new approach to funding entrepreneurs in East Africa. The resale boutique Mine & Yours is working with Emerging African Entrepreneurs to collect 750 pieces of clothing, which will make up the initial inventory for female-run retail startups in Kenya and Uganda. The direct-donation model is “a way to upcycle your clothing,” says Jigme Love, owner of Mine & Yours. “It’s a unique, creative approach to micro-financing.”From hundreds of applicants, Emerging African Entrepreneurs selected 20 women for the program. In addition to a starting inventory of 37 items of clothing, each woman will receive marketing and financial planning education to help them successfully launch their business. Jigme Love, owner of Mine & Yours and Orianna Lacey, founder of Emerging African Entrepreneurs.As an entrepreneur herself, it’s easy for Love to empathize with these women starting out. “I feel like these businesses that we’re contributing to mirror the business I have here in Vancouver.”Guests of the clothing drive party are asked to donate ten items of quality used clothing, suitable for warm climates, or $20. Those attending can enjoy beauty and fashion presentations, live music from Afro-beat DJ Kenny-Davis, free mimosas, and have a chance to win prize draws for beauty and skincare products.When: Sunday, September 10 from 11am – 3pmWhere: Mine & Yours, 1025 Howe StreetCost: 10 articles of quality used clothing, or $20