New Clothing Bank for those in need opens in Prague this week

A new option for donating unwanted or unused clothing will open in the Czech capital this week. Unlike Prague's other charity shops, the new Clothing Bank (Oděvní banka) will primarily focus on distributing donated clothing to homeless shelters, food banks, and other locations for those in need across the Czech Republic.

The Clothing Bank is operated by Prague's Single Mothers Club, who ran a trial operation of distributing clothes donated through their Fashion Charity Shop to those in need this summer.

"We noted that people in difficult situations are now not only asking for food, they are also asking for clothes," Dana Pavlousková, head of the Single Mothers Club, told local media this weekend.

During the trial operation of the Clothing Bank, volunteers cleaned, sorted, and individually packaged items of donated clothing. In the Central Bohemian region alone, half a ton of clothes were then distributed to food banks and other locations where those in need could pick them up.

From Wednesday, September 14, the brick-and-mortar Clothing Bank will open next to Prague Zoo, at Povltavská 5 in Prague 7 (by the Zoo's southern parking lot). It will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Visitors can donate unused or unwanted clothes directly at the shop (or at the Fashion Charity Shop in Holešovice), and those in need can also pick up donated clothes directly at the Clothing Bank.

But the location will primarily function as a warehouse, where clothes will be sorted according to type and size, cleaned, and hygienically packaged before being shipped out to locations that help those in need across the Czech Republic.

The Clothing Bank accepts men's, women's, and children's clothes in good condition. At the moment, it does not have the capacity to distribute other items.

For those far away from the shop, donations can be sent through the Zásilkovna distribution service free of charge. More information about donating clothes can be found at the Clothing Bank's official website.

According to Pavlousková, funding for the operation of the new shop comes from a corporate sponsor, with money used to pay for rent, energy bills, and employee wages.

The organization also plans to extend the opening hours in the future. The Clothing Bank is already prepared to welcome its first visitors this week.

"We already have clean clothes ready on racks," Pavlousková notes.