When clients and their children arrive at our shelter, 98% report having zero income. Often, their only possessions are the clothes on their backs when they walk through our doors. Most of our clients feel as if they lost a piece of themselves and have even lost their own identity. To help ease the pain of the tragedy they have been through, clients and their children visit our boutique after first arriving at the shelter. Set up to resemble a small shopping area, our boutique features a place of normalcy. This is a safe space where clients browse through clothes, books, jewelry, makeup, and more. All items have been kindly donated by our wonderful donors. During their first visit, they pick out essentials for themselves and their family. Throughout their stay when the boutique opens weekly to all clients, they may select more items to help create a sense of comfort and help them rediscover their identity in this small way.
In 2022, we renovated our boutique to become even more warm and welcoming. With the help of a host of volunteers, the boutique has received a fresh new coat of paint, been reorganized, been transitioned to featured new items only, and received a huge and generous donation of brand new clothes from Utah Women’s boutique Piper and Scoot.
South Valley Services wants to send a huge thank you to all the groups and volunteers that made this renovation possible!
- Thank you to Ken Garff, who provided new inventory, hangers, and bins, as well as sorted through old donations and organized all of the inventory!
- Thank you to South Jordan Utah Highland Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who provided the largest in-kind donation SVS has ever received! With over 17,000 new items donated, we were able to better serve and provide for hundreds of clients living within and outside of our shelter. This generous donation will serve our shelter for a long time!
- Thank you to Wasatch IT group, who not only provides donated IT services to SVS but also generously donated their time to re-paint the entire boutique.
- Thank you to Boart Longyear, who reassembled the boutique after the boutique received its fresh new coat of paint.
- And finally, thank you to Piper and Scoot for their large donation of brand-new designer clothes for our clients. These clothes will go a long way to ensuring our clients can feel like their best selves and work towards reclaiming their identity.
We would also like to send a huge thank you to our weekly volunteers who help open the boutique to our clients as well as keep the boutique clean and organized.
Amber, who has been volunteering at SVS for over seven years, is always passionate about what she does:
"I enjoy seeing the residents get excited about shopping, finding something unexpected, or finding something they need. The surprise on their face when we have great things donated by an awesome community!”
Along with Amber, Emilia, Claire, Sally, and Romy (pictured above) regularly volunteer at the boutique as a family:
“We and our teen daughters chose to volunteer at SVS after hearing about the opportunity from a friend. It has been a great opportunity for us to do something meaningful together and getting to know some great people along the way. We love the chance to work at the boutique and help the people find 'treasures' that brighten their day.”