CLOTHING OUR KIDS

What CLOTHING OUR KIDS does

Clothing Our Kids (COK) is a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN# 45-4382079) founded in 2012 in Millsboro, Delaware, by Mary Rio. Its core function is removing the barrier of inadequate school clothing for at-risk children by providing new clothing, shoes, coats, underwear, and socks, at no charge, to students from Head Start through 12th grade in Sussex County, Delaware. COK does not sell a product; the "Clothe a Child" program is delivered through a referral-based channel in which school nurses, counselors, and social workers submit requests, COK packages items at its Volunteer Center (26582 John J. Williams Highway, Suite #2, Millsboro), and volunteers deliver packaged clothing directly to schools within 1-2 days for private distribution to students.

The operating model is a low-overhead community logistics organization with no paid staff and over 150 volunteers and 40+ defined supporting roles. COK has progressively expanded vertical coverage: Head Start (2017), Middle Schools (2022), incremental High Schools (3 in 2023/24, 5 in 2024/25), and all 10 Sussex County High Schools approved in June 2025. The organization runs an annual golf tournament (12th Annual in 2026) as its flagship fundraiser, supplemented by community events, clothing drives, and dine-and-donate partnerships with local restaurants.

COK has no proprietary technology platform. Operations rely on volunteer-managed school referral workflows, basic inventory and data management by volunteer Directors, a WordPress website, and Facebook for community engagement. Revenue consists entirely of individual donations, foundation grants (Carl M. Freeman Foundation, Chichester DuPont Foundation, Crestlea Foundation, Schell Family Foundation, Wimpfheimer Foundation, Sussex County Council, Target, Rotary, Draper Holdings), corporate sponsorships (Schell Brothers/Ocean Atlantic, Mountaire Farms, TCC/Verizon, Tidemark Federal Credit Union Foundation, Delaware Electric Cooperative, Knights of Columbus), and event-based fundraising. Annual program expenditure exceeds $150,000 on clothing, with cumulative impact of 44,254 children served and 277,308+ items distributed since 2012; in the 2025/2026 school year alone, COK served 5,179 students with 28,196 items.

Name

CLOTHING OUR KIDS

Legal name

Clothing Our Kids

Website

https://clothingourkids.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Clothing Our Kids is a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Millsboro, Delaware, that provides free new clothing, shoes, and coats to at-risk students from Head Start through high school in Sussex County through a school referral-based distribution model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Clothing Assistance (Nonprofit)

akta.pro primary industry

Kids Apparel (5–12) (CRAAAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Baby Apparel (0–24 months) (CRAAAHAA), Underwear & Socks (Children) (CRAAAHAI), Outerwear & Snowsuits (Children) (CRAAAHAF)

Keywords

• Children's clothing assistance
• Nonprofit charity services
• School clothing program
• Community clothing drives
• Donor funded programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Millsboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: COK is entirely dependent on donations from the community, including clothing donations, financial donations from individuals, and grants from foundations and organizations. No revenue from services - all offerings are free to recipients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Clothing Our Kids is a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides new clothing, shoes, coats, underwear, and socks at no charge to at-risk children from Head Start through High School in Sussex County, Delaware. The organization accepts donations of new children's apparel and financial contributions, packages clothing at its Volunteer Center in Millsboro, and delivers directly to schools where staff privately distribute items to identified students in need.

Product overview

Clothing Our Kids (COK) is a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit organization that operates as a single charitable program focused on removing barriers to education by providing new clothing to children in need. The core offering is the 'Clothe a Child' program, which distributes clothing, shoes, and coats to at-risk students from Head Start through high school in Sussex County. COK expanded its services over the years: starting with elementary schools in 2012, adding middle schools in 2022, and beginning to serve all 10 Sussex County high schools in 2025. The organization operates through a Volunteer Center and relies entirely on donations of clothing, cash, and grants to fulfill its mission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clothe a Child Program The primary charitable program of Clothing Our Kids that provides new clothing, shoes, coats, underwear, and socks at no charge to at-risk elementary, middle, and high school children throughout Sussex County, Delaware. School nurses, counselors, and social workers identify students in need and submit requests; COK packages clothing at its Volunteer Center and delivers directly to schools where items are privately given to students.
• Head Start Clothing Program Provides clothing assistance to children in all 10 Sussex County Head Start Programs, serving babies and young children living in poverty to help them obtain a head start with their education.
• High School Nurse Closet Program Provides clothing stocked directly in high school nurses' closets across Sussex County so that students in need can be supplied quickly through their school nurse. By June 2025, the program expanded to serve all 10 Sussex County high schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,179 children served with 28,196 clothing items in 2025/2026 school year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Big Fish RestaurantcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual dine-and-donate events where restaurant donates percentage of sales to COK. Hosted children's clothing drives and provided significant donations.
• Chick-fil-A (Rehoboth Beach)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual cookie drive fundraiser (Cookies for a Cause) and tournament meal sponsor. Ongoing community partner.
• Peninsula Golf & Country ClubcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerVenue host for annual golf tournament. Sponsors Turkey Trot event and provides ongoing support for fundraising events.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Dress for Success: Nonprofit providing professional clothing to people in need. Differs from COK in serving adult job-seekers rather than school children, but operates a comparable 'dignity-protective, new-clothing distribution through referral partners' model.
• Mountaire Farms Community Giving: Regional corporate funder that provides grants, sponsors drives, and supports COK and similar Delaware community nonprofits. Not a clothing peer per se, but a comparable regional charitable-giving stakeholder and partner in COK's funding ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• St. Vincent de Paul Society: Established Catholic nonprofit that provides clothing, household goods, and direct aid to people in poverty, including children. Operates in Delaware and overlaps with COK on children's clothing assistance but at much greater scope and scale.
• The Salvation Army (Delaware): Large established human-services organization that includes clothing assistance for families and children in its Delaware service area. Overlaps with COK on children's clothing provision but as one program within a much broader social-services portfolio.

Direct peers

• Baby2Baby: Large national nonprofit distributing new clothing, shoes, and essential items to children living in poverty through school and partner-agency referrals. Operates the same 'school-channel distribution of new apparel to at-risk kids' model as COK, but at significantly greater scale.
• Operation Warm: National nonprofit that manufactures and distributes new coats, shoes, and other essentials to children in need via school and community partners. COK's coat- and shoe-distribution activities for Sussex County students directly overlap with Operation Warm's core mission.
• Shoes That Fit: National nonprofit that funds and delivers new brand-name shoes to children in need through school partnerships. COK is a distribution partner and operates an analogous school-referral clothing/shoe model, making it a direct functional peer.
• Kids In Need Foundation: National nonprofit providing clothing and school supplies to children in need through a network of partner schools and teachers. Closely parallels COK's school-channel model focused on removing clothing-related barriers to education.
• Cradles to Crayons: Nonprofit that provides children from birth through age 12 with essential clothing and other items via partner social-service agencies and schools. Highly comparable to COK in mission, age range served, and school/social-worker referral distribution approach.
• K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers: Nonprofit that distributes new clothing and essentials donated by apparel brands to children and families in need. Operates an analogous 'new clothing only, dignity-protective distribution' model similar to COK's stated approach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Clothingourkids
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clothing-our-kids

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CLOTHING OUR KIDS