If you are a victim of the Woolsey Fire and need clothing or shoes for women, men or children, there is now a “Free Store” on the second floor of the Taverna Tony building in the Civic Center area—directly above Toy Crazy. There are thousands of new and gently used donated clothing items hanging on donated racks, and neatly organized in bins and shelves by size.
The free store was organized by Malibu residents Catherine Brickman and Tracy Park. Doors opened Monday, Nov. 26, with hours of operation from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week until the end of December (except Christmas); and possibly longer.
Brickman got the idea for the store from her friend Lisa Waldinger, a former Malibu resident now living in Montecito, who organized a “Free Store” there last January after mudslides killed 21 people, destroyed 65 single-family homes and damaged 462 other houses.
Brickman evacuated to Waldinger’s home during the fires right after attending a dressy event (the evening before Malibu gave its evacuation order), and her only clothes for a time were the cocktail dress and high heels she had on.
“We just copied how they did [the free store in] Montecito,” Brickman said in an interview. “We’ve had a generous outpouring of support. A Girl Scout troop in Montecito got donations and brought in hangers and bins; and many local Malibu stores donated racks as well as new clothes.”
Tracy Park, who is associated with Toy Crazy, got Malibu Country Mart property manager Stu McNelis to donate the “Free Store” space. Brickman said she likes the fact that it’s on the second floor, because it gives people more privacy.
“We set the store up the weekend before it opened, and our first customer was a woman we saw crying in the parking lot outside. We went out and brought her in,” Brickman said.
Anyone who would like to donate new or gently used clothing, shoes or other items should bring them in to the store on Mondays or Fridays only (otherwise, Brickman said, there’s too much chaos with donated items coming in all the time). Anyone interested in volunteering at the store would work between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Fire victims coming to the store are being asked to sign in and show ID with a Malibu address. The store is not open to people who say they’re shopping for a friend.
For questions about donating or volunteering, email Catherine at casibrick@me.com or Tracy at tracyparkart@hotmail.com.
