Donations will stock Hannah’s Boutique online shelves

For the past five years, Hannah Sexton and a handful of dedicated volunteers have worked tirelessly to offer teen girls in Bucks County an opportunity to “shop” at Hannah’s Back-to-School Boutique, filled with donated clothes, jewelry and accessories.

 

This year, the successful program has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and won’t be able to host an in-person shopping experience, nor its annual fundraising event, organizers said.

 

Instead, Hannah and her mother, Kathi Sexton, along with Ella Sims, and her mom, Gwen Sims, are working with Bucks County Housing Group to create personalized bags of clothing for each girl, which they can then pick up at various locations.

 

All participants must register with the Bucks County Housing Group and have a case manager in order to be part of the program. Each shopping bag, said Kathi Sexton, will have a pair of black leggings, a sweatshirt, two tops and a new or gently used “trendy” item from NOVA. The Sextons and the Sims will select the clothes.

 

The bags will resemble “clothing mystery boxes” that can be found on Poshmark, ThredUp, Mercari, Depop, etc,” said Hannah Sexton, in an email. “Case managers will provide us with the girls’ sizes, preferences for items, styles, etc. and we will do our best to give them items that they may have picked out at the in-person boutique event. “

 

Based on the number of girls who’ve participated in past years, Kathi Sexton said, about 100 girls are expected to register this year.

 

In addition to the clothing, Kathi Sexton is making gift bags for the girls. Each will include a face mask, hand sanitizer, a shell necklace, hair scrunchy and chocolate.

 

Unable to hold its fundraiser this year due to the pandemic, organizers are scrambling to raise the $5,000 needed to meet the boutique’s goals and are asking for the community’s support. A GoFundMe page can be found at gofundme.com/f/hannahs-back-to-school-boutique-2020.

 

More information can also be found at the boutique’s Facebook page and on Instagram.

 

It was the insight of Hannah and a few friends, who were in middle school in 2015, that made the Back-to-School Boutique a reality. Recognizing their own privilege and seeing how many others had far less, they came together to create the successful program.

 

“For many people in Bucks County, COVID-19 has been a frustrating inconvenience, but for others it has completely devastated or uprooted their lives,” said Hannah, in an email. “We live in a very privileged area, so it’s easy to forget how much need there is within our community. Further, because Bucks County is such a wealthy area, it can be even harder for underserved girls to fit in with their peers.”

 

She continued, “Appearance is a common reason for bullying, and although it seems silly, not having ‘cool clothes’ in middle and high school can really take a toll on a student’s confidence and self-esteem. With all the uncertainty, hardship, and stress that many of these girls have experienced because of the pandemic, they shouldn’t also have to worry about what they have to wear.”