Thomas is ready to hand over the Share the Ware ministry she started over a decade ago.
Allie Strabala found a lot more than uniforms for her son Jackson, who entered kindergarten last fall, at Worthington Christian’s Share the Ware event last August. Strabala found a community.
“Everything was really organized and had exactly what you thought you would need for the year,” Strabala said. “It was like shopping at Land’s End … but a lot cheaper.”
That kind of review makes Heather Thomas, who started the Share the Ware program a decade ago, smile. Thomas, who will be turning over the ministry’s leadership to Strabala at the end of the year, said the Share the Ware day is one of her favorite days of the school year.
“My husband Scott Thomas (WC ’89) and I are both really passionate about generosity,” said Thomas, who had two children—Zachary (WC ’21) and Jaedon (WC ’23)—who graduated from Worthington Christian, and a third—and Cody (WC ’26)—will graduate this spring. “We were looking around the community and saw a real need that could be met easily. We thought, ‘Let’s be good stewards of what we have been given and help others. It’s morphed into something more.”
Although it started as a way for families to purchase gently used school uniforms, the program has evolved into a social outreach as well.
“We’re very intentional about the date we pick,” Thomas said. “It’s near the start of the school year, the kids have their schedule, and they know who their teachers are. So, when the new families arrive, we can ask, ‘Who is your teacher?’ and try to match them with other families in the room.
“If they’re Upper School students, we talk to them about what their interests are. Then we walk them around the room and introduce them to someone who’s gonna be on the football team or someone who’s going to be playing clarinet in the band. We really work to make a connection with them.”
Administrators were reluctant at first, but after Thomas showed them her business plan, they gave her the green light. Share the Ware went on to raise over $10,000 for the school’s Parent-Teacher Fellowship in its first year.
Since then, Thomas estimates the ministry has averaged around $6,000, with the highest year at $13,000. Each item is priced at around $4. Organizing the 3,000 donated items has become a 60-hour job for Thomas, Wendy Shemenski, and a small group of volunteers the week leading up to the Share the Ware event.
“One of the things that comes to mind is the idea of being blessed to be a blessing to others,” Thomas said. “It’s so fun to see how an idea comes to fruition. Our community comes together on that day.”
The growth of Share the Ware reflects the products it offers. It started out as the right size for Thomas’ house, but it soon outgrew it.
In the program’s infancy, Thomas took in items, laundered clothing, and organized them with the help of volunteers. However, the stacks of khakis and plaid dresses began to take over the Thomas home.
“We started to get so many donations we couldn’t do it (at our house) anymore,” she said. “The school has been gracious enough to find places for me to store clothing. I’ve been in the cafeteria, the music room, the storage facilities, and I’ve been all over the Upper School. I just take whatever place they offer me.”
As the supply of clothing has increased, so has the Share the Ware mission. The program provides uniforms at no cost for those who need them. If administrators or teachers see a student wearing threadbare uniforms, the wrong size, or who is in financial need, they will notify Thomas. Share the Ware then provides clothing from the storage closet anonymously to those families.
“I have two students we’ve supplied uniforms for since they arrived at the school, and they’re now seniors this year,” Thomas said.
The program has even affected students who are thousands of miles away from the WC campus. Three years ago, Share the Ware partnered with Finish Line Ministries to send clothing with the outdated Worthington Christian logo to be sent to Africa, in addition to other clothes donated by the community. “In total, last year we sent 110 boxes of clothes to Africa,” Thomas said.
Thomas planned to pass over the ministry to someone else when her last child graduates this spring. Strabala gladly accepted the leadership baton from Thomas.
“I loved the Share the Ware program so much,” Strabala said. “When I heard (Thomas) was stepping down, I took the leap of faith and volunteered. I’m so grateful Heather and (Community Engagement Coordinator) Tisha Nussbaum helped get me started on the process of fundraising.”
“One thing I’d like to see us do in the future is have a Share the Ware event in the spring as well as the fall. Our kids have growth spurts throughout the year, so as we’re cleaning out our closets, we can share clothing our kids have outgrown and stock up on things for next fall.”
Students may outgrow their uniforms, but Strabala believes Worthington Christian will never outgrow the Share the Ware program.