Some very great friends of Vermin&Jetlag have created a way themselves, and are helping those in need by providing something I'm sure most of us take completely for granted. The best thing I could do to plug this great cause is to just let founders Ryan and Christina Rado speak for themselves.
Who and what is Humankind?
CR: Humankind is a new thrift store in Nashville, TN. The name Humankind alludes to the fact that we are all human - all part of the human race, with the same basic needs - one of those needs being clothing. Ryan and I run the store with help from friends and volunteers. We've had so many people step up to help, from sorting through clothes, designing logos and fliers, doing publicity photos, building clothing racks, providing a facility, sewing, donating inventory, and staffing the store - it's totally been a group effort.
What was your purpose in founding?
RR: I remember talking with my friend chad right before he went to Africa- he was telling me stories about the overall climate of the people and I immediately called Christina and said "I need to go to Africa!!!". After thinking a bit more, I realized that people in this city (Nashville) need assistance as well. So, we decided to start at home.
What raised your awareness to the problem of children affording school uniforms in metro schools?
CR: I was an elementary school teacher in Nashville Public Schools last year. I taught an ELL class (English Language Learners), so all of my students were originally from other countries and needed extra help learning English. Many of the kids in my class were refugees from Somalia. Since Nashville Public Schools recently implemented a policy stating that students have to adhere to “Standard School Attire” – basically, polo shirts, khaki or navy pants, etc. The kids got in trouble if they didn’t have the right clothing, or were sent home to change! Many of these refugee families struggled to purchase clothes in general, much less specific colors and styles of clothes that were needed for school. Refugee parents often don’t speak or understand English well and the petty rules in the dress code like “no cargo pockets” or “skirts must be knee-length” are hard to understand.
One of my students had one yellow Oxford shirt that he wore almost every day of the week during winter – I think it was one of the only long sleeve shirts that he owned that actually followed the dress code. When we started thinking about making Humankind a nonprofit, this was a cause that almost immediately came to mind.
We specifically want to help refugees because they're in such a unique situation. Refugees are different from immigrants in that they relocate to another country because of some sort of trouble in their home country - politics, war, hunger, etc. They don't come here by choice. It's a scary thing to flee from your home and find yourself in an entirely new situation - we wanted to help ease at least one facet of life for these families with school-age kids.
What kind of a dent do you hope to make in this problem with HK?
CR: We want to help students have the right clothes for school so they don’t get in trouble or feel silly. We want the clothes to be new and fit well, so the students can feel proud of how they look and to concentrate on school instead of what they're wearing. We’ve been working with an organization called World Relief that resettles refugees in the U.S. Our church also has a ministry called The Harbor that mentors refugee families and also works with World Relief to do things like set up apartments for families moving in, meeting them at the airport, and teaching them English. So, we work with The Harbor and World Relief to link up with refugees just entering the U.S. who need school clothes. With our profits from this summer, we're planning on doing a huge clothing drop in August. Our goal is to help as many refugee children as possible to have at least two outfits with which to start school.
The thrift store's location is inside a church building called The Anchor in Nashville, isn't it?
RR: Yes, at the moment. We're working on moving into E. Nashville. Be thinking of us!
What is your connection to The Anchor? Anything more than floor space?
CR: Ryan and I have both been a part of The Anchor since it started about six years ago. The Anchor does a lot of work with social justice issues, one of those being helping refugees. They offered to be sort of an incubator for this new business, and we are currently a part of their nonprofit status. We’ve really appreciated the leg up and the support from The Anchor staff and church community.
RR: Christina's answer is good.
How can one get involved in helping your cause? When are donations accepted?
CR: We pretty much just want to get the word out at this point. Plugging Humankind on your social networking sites like Facebook , MySpace, and Twitter are all so helpful! You can follow our Twitter at HumankindNash for updates on the store's needs, events, and accomplishments.
We’re always accepting donations! Clothes, shoes, outerwear, and accessories can be dropped off inside The Anchor during store hours and church services. Those hours can be found on our MySpace page.
RR: Spread the word!
Links to Humankind's Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, as well as their physical location and other information, can be found under Connect at www.humankind-nashville.com. Clothing donations for Humankind are also always being accepted by V&J; just email October or myself.
Please show some love and help us support.
Written by: Spencer
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