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Tucked on the ground floor of All Saints Church’s Bishop Harrison Center, a pair of double doors leads to a spacious multi-purpose room where soft rock echoes. Local fashionistas, community members and church congregants, both young and old, gather here at the Intergenerational Clothing Exchange to sort through mountains of donated apparel and accessories overflowing on rows of foldable tables.

“The generosity is pouring in, we all have so much to give,” Katie Clinton, a Syracuse University Spanish instructor and clothing exchange coordinator, said. “It is important to be lights for others.”

All Saints Church hosted the Intergenerational Clothing Exchange on Saturday night. Each gently used item, from fur coats and knitwear to handbags and vintage jewelry, was free to the public. The Philanthropic Educational Organization sponsored the evening to amplify its efforts in promoting women’s education. Katie Clinton said while visitors were welcomed to give monetary donations to support PEO’s local projects, she primarily wanted to ensure young women know they have support.

Though Saturday evening’s event was open to all, the next morning was designated specifically for the Eastern Farm Workers Association and All Saints’ Congolese parishioners. Katie Clinton said transportation can be expensive, so the church’s parish hoped to provide it for the Congolese so they could shop before Mass.

Snow kept many of the Congolese community members from shopping and affected transportation availability. Instead, many of them will come next weekend. Leftover items from Saturday were sent to other local organizations, like Lydia’s Attic thrift shop at University United Methodist Church.

On the façade of All Saints Parish, signs read phrases like “Immigrants Welcome.” Katie Clinton said All Saints differs from other traditional churches because of its progressive goals, like providing housing and cars for asylum seekers.

“To be able to provide a light in the dark times is really what I’m excited about because I love this stuff,” Katie Clinton said. “Other people will really appreciate it.”

From 7 to 9 p.m., visitors shopped for pre-loved items from various brands. Sophie Clinton, Katie Clinton’s daughter and an SU graduate student, volunteered to organize donations on tables and racks. She and her mother have hosted similar events a couple of times at their home, but wanted to open up the opportunity to the community, especially as clothing prices increase, she said.

While eyeing a chevron-patterned, double-breasted wool coat at the exchange, she spotted a dazzling collection of flamboyant hats.

“There’s a woman who came in and brought a bunch of fancy hats you could wear to a royal wedding or something,” Sophie Clinton said. “It’s beautiful to see the generational change.”

Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer

The Philanthropic Educational Organization started as a strictly Christian organization and now welcomes people of all faiths. The organization encourages diversity and strives to meet social needs through community service work.

A native Syracusan, Sophie Clinton grew up in the All Saints congregation. They said over the years, it has been successful in involving women and LGBTQ+ people, like by fighting for them to become church leaders. She said this effort isn’t one that has been widely accepted by most churches.

“This organization and PEO specifically and this clothing exchange really speaks to the core values of this awesome organization,” Sophie Clinton said.

Despite being over 150 years old, PEO isn’t particularly well known, Jane Stopher, the organization’s Syracuse chapter president, said. It was started in 1869 in Iowa, but has expanded over the years across the U.S. and Canada.

Stopher said PEO was once a strictly Christian organization, but now welcomes people of all faiths, religions and races. Stopher said she and many other PEO members are always looking for new, younger members to encourage diversity. PEO strives to meet social needs through community service work and fundraisers that support organization-operated scholarships and loan programs.

Katie Clinton pitched the Intergenerational Clothing Exchange during a monthly PEO fundraising meeting. She’d recognized the popular trend of younger women refashioning the clothes of their mothers and grandmothers, and was inspired to offer the event. She recommended the exchange take place at All Saints because she’s familiar with the space and knew there would likely be lots of leftover items.

Callie Leslie visited the exchange Saturday evening with her mother, Jenny Leslie. While home from college, Callie Leslie wanted to stop by and support the event’s organizers.

“We’re really happy to support the program through the PEO because I know a recipient of one of the scholarships,” Jenny Leslie said. “It makes me feel good to know that somebody is benefiting from all this.”

Katie Clinton said she always encourages her students to venture off campus to places like the Intergenerational Clothing Exchange that may help them realize they “don’t live in a bubble.” She said while she was in college, she was able to travel internationally, which allowed her to see her own community through a different lens.

“As much as we bitch and moan, we are incredibly lucky to have all of the opportunities we have,” Katie Clinton said. “We are here in this country, and that’s why I’m fighting like hell to keep them.”

She often references a Spanish quote that she said sums up her life and her community efforts: “¿Para qué vivimos si no es para menos difícil para los demás?” It translates to, “What do we live for, if it’s not to make life less difficult for each other?”

“It doesn’t have to be an immigrant. It can be the kids sitting next to you in Spanish class that maybe look like they’re having a bad day,” Katie Clinton said. “You do not need to change the world, but you can change the world with a smile and you don’t know what impact you have on other people.”

Published on February 9, 2025 at 11:13 pm

Contact Savannah: sfstewar@syr.edu