About us
The Clothes Off Our Racks (T-COOR) is where the movie/arts industry can help the homeless and those in need. T-COOR collects clothing, small accessories, and basic personal items from various movie productions and crews, and transfers them to the homeless and those going through difficult times. On some occasions movie production creates necessary excess to ensure a movie stays on-time and on-budget. Through the T-COOR team's eyes, it became apparent that there are ways to re-use, re-purpose and recycle many of the clothes and smaller items that studios and crews no longer need. T-COOR hopes to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate by not letting these opportunities go to waste.
So to generate a win-win opportunity, the T-COOR core team liaises with studios, independents, production companies, production managers, costume designers, and other key crew to arrange the prompt and convenient collection of surplus clothing and small items from sets all over Toronto. These same volunteers then ensure the garments and items are distributed directly into the hands of Toronto's homeless and underprivileged population via charitable hands-on organizations and outreach workers with who we collaborate.
T-COOR prides itself in having zero bureaucracy, minimal administration, and a ‘get it done’ attitude that ensures the non-profit can positively impact as many homeless and underprivileged as possible without fuss. The non-profit exists because of the good intentions of this core group of Toronto-based volunteers, who currently work in various capacities in the movie, communications/business consulting, and legal industries. Any storage space, transport services, etc. - which we are always seeking - would be appreciated.
Volunteers are always welcome.
HISTORY
After a visit to a film market in sunny Santa Monica and seeing the difficulties many faced just outside of its borders, our founder, a publicist and LP/PM, had an idea for the movie industry to make more of a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. Before the onset of another harsh Canadian winter, she reached out to some of her colleagues in film to find a way to directly assist Toronto's homeless.
Within days T-COOR began as a simple concept in November 2014. By the end of that year, a core team of volunteers with expertise in the movie industry, law, communications, and project management, had met and committed to the nonprofit start-up. Through a working knowledge of Toronto's homeless shelters and charities, boosted with proactive networking, the team worked quickly to establish a distribution network that could receive the items T-COOR obtains, and get them directly into the hands of those who need them.
The T-COOR team hopes to continue its work and grow with new volunteers especially during the cold, winter months ahead when assistance is most needed.
2022/2023
It took some time but in 2022, T-COOR was able to host an event to collect clothing for those in need. In September 2022, in honour of Irene S.K. Yu, a reception at Space was attended by friends and supporters of T-COOR alongside our charity partners who were able to meet up and discuss the challenges they face on a regular basis. Thankfully, we were also able to celebrate the generosity of those in the film/tv industry and their commitment to this ongoing initiative. In 2023, the industry faced its own challenges and many productions were stalled. By the end of the year, things improved and the industry was coming back. And with it, our good friends at CAFTCAD invited us back to their TV/Movie Wardrobe Sale.
2020/2021
Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, we have not been able to do our usual Community Giveaways. Volunteers are also unable to assist and we are now looking for new storage space (preferably donated). However, T-COOR is still able to help direct and organize clothing picks up by the charities who work with us on a regular basis. Recently, T-COOR worked with the productions Nightmare Alley and Sneakerella which resulted in a number of charities who work directly with those in need being able to benefit from their generosity! Over 25 racks of clothing and about a dozen boxes of footwear were given away to those less fortunate. THANK YOU to all who helped make that happen. Wishing everyone a safe and healthy 2021!
GIVEN AWAy in AUGUST 2019 to DECEMBER 2019*
Men's Tops/Pants/Suits/Outerwear/Footwear:
Over 800 dress shirts, casual shirts, pants, jeans, light jackets and sneakers
Women's Tops/Pants/Skirts/Dresses/Outerwear/Footwear:
Over 1200 casual shirts, cardigans, sweaters, pants, skirts, jeans, dresses, light jackets and dress pumps
*Numbers are approximate and don’t include T-COOR-organized, direct pick-ups by our partners/friends at other locations