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Who We Are

Our Vision

Our Vision

Clothed in Love helps Christchurch families in need by blessing them with free good quality preloved or new clothing for their children.

  

In all we do, in every step, the heart and hands who help with Clothed in Love carry joy and a love for blessing those who may need a little support in this season. 

 

Our packs are a gift to be given, never a handout.

Our Name

Our Name

For us as Mums it is sometimes easy to forget who we are in the day to day of life.  

Faith is a strong part of our families so we came back to the Bible.

 

In it when speaking on women/wives it says:

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”

(Proverbs 31:25-31)

 

So as Mummas we asked how do we then see children - ours and others?  

We want to see them happy, safe, warm, educated and most of all loved.

 

It also says:

“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”

(Colossians 3:14)

 

This inspired the name Clothed in Love.

 

We know we are now reaching out to a community which will differ in beliefs, in faith, in family make up, in life choices, background, current season and future goals BUT we are sure we all share ONE thing in common - the most important thing - and that is the importance of loving on others.

 

In our case, Clothed in Love is focusing on loving on those who are perhaps the most vulnerable - our children.  However in loving on them we will be loving on their families, their friends and their communities.  

 

What a powerful thing that will be and what harmony it could create in our communities and our city.

 

We are so thrilled that such a diverse and beautiful city of people will be able to come together to make an impacting and positive change in Christchurch.

 

Thank you for coming with us on the journey.

 

Louisa & Kim   

Co Founders of Clothed in Love

Our Story

Our Story

With such a wonderful community behind our organisation, let us take you all on the journey of Clothed in Love.  Here is how we began.

 

Kim and I (and our families) have been friends for quite a few years. We met at church, then their family moved in down the road where they lived for 3 years before moving to Yaldhurst where we base Clothed in Love.

 

At the end of 2020, a mutual friend of ours shared a post on Facebook from a preschool that resonated with me asking for shoes and jackets for children who come with none. Euan (my husband) asked how this could be happening and commented ‘surely there must be something that could be done’ - an idea began.

 

I, like so many Mums, know the value of hand me down clothes as our kids grow. I also know that often we find ourselves with no where to send them afterwards except to the clothing bins. What if we could take what others want to hand on and find families that just need a little support at this time of their lives? Imagine... 

 

I approached Kim with the idea about how to use a soon to be empty space on her property. Her reply shortly afterwards was “Scott and I can give you a 20ft container to use but I am unsure that I will have the time to help”.  Famous last words - since then she has been in with her whole heart and this dream became ours.

 

Clothed in Love – Christchurch officially began at the start of December 2020.  In all decisions we carried the purpose of being excellent so started with a logo designed by the incredible Nicki from Wild Daisy Design. We were deliberate in our planning and strategy to make this vision sustainable, practical and most importantly filled with love at every stage.

 

From December onwards, we collected donations of clothing and shoes from the community utilising the power of social media for good. We began to build our volunteer team, knowing that this would only be successful with a group of people.  

 

Since then we have grown unbelievably and in one year we…

  • Gifted packs for 710 children

  • Built a volunteer team of over 60 people and counting 

  • Liaised with incredible people from well over 30 organisations plus schools and preschools

  • Got registered as an official charity

  • Outgrew our 20ft container and are now housed in that, a 40ft container and a shed

  • Learnt, grew, refined, worked and continued to dream

 

Our philosophy has always been “If everyone can do a little then we can achieve a lot” meaning that this could grow into something amazing.  And it has.

Our People

Our People
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Louisa Stewart

Co Founder of Clothed in Love / Mum of 3 / Teacher 

Lover of people, words, performing, photography, reading, animals & fun.

A person of encouragement, faith, enthusiasm, kindness & crazy ideas.

"No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted"

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Kim Steetskamp

Co Founder of Clothed in Love / Mum of 3 / Business owner 

Lover of people, baking, camping, organisation, jigsaws & board games.

A person of friendship, generosity, loyalty, faith & trustworthiness.

“Be the rainbow in someone else’s rain”
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Abhinav Keswani

Board Chair of Clothed In Love / Father of 2 / People and Planet Focused Entrepreneur.

Lover of people, mountain adventures, reading, food & music.

A person of laughter, sincerity, compassion, commitment, generosity.

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow. Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do and mostly Live.”
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Aynsley Macleod

Board Member of Clothed in Love / Mum of 1 / Pharmacist

Lover of learning, ballet, food, inspirational people & the simple things.

A person of dedication, compassion, focus, responsibility & is deliberative.

“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”
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Nicola Bargh

Treasurer of Clothed in Love / Mum of 3 / Accountant

Lover of sunshine, the great outdoors, cooking, reading, family & friends

 A person of principles & empathy who is conscientious & reliable

“If you can't yet do great things, do small things in a great way.”
Euan Stewart

Euan Stewart

Board Member of Clothed in Love / Dad of 3 / Engineer

Lover of people, cricket & cycling.

A person of faith, big ideas & generosity.

“No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come”
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Nikki Johnston

Board Member of Clothed in Love / Mum / Business Owner / Counsellor

Lover of family, friends, people, art & nature. 

A person of integrity and empathy. Perspicacious, a strong critical thinker, generous with heart and time.

“The things that make me different are the things that make me, me” - Piglet
Michelle

Michelle Grant

Operations Team Member of Clothed in Love / Mum of 3

Lover of fun, travel, reading, music, baking & friends.

A person of laughter, kindness, empathy, sharing & community.

“What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make”
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Jenaya Francis

Operations Team Member of Clothed in Love / Mum of 2

Lover of travel, family time, outdoors, food, learning & helping others.

A person of kindness, dedication, organisation, laughter and fairness.

“No one is you, and that is your superpower”
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Nichola Brydon

Operations Team Member of Clothed in Love  / Mum of 4 / Grandmother of 1

Lover of family, friends, travel, sports & giving to others.

A person of compassion, kindness, love & diligence.

“Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else’s life forever.”
Scott Steetskamp

Scott Steetskamp

Site Manager of Clothed in Love / Dad of 3 / Business Owner

Lover of people, the outdoors, family, camping & running.

A person of faith, generosity, fun, diligence & trustworthiness.

“What we have comes and goes but who we have is all that matters”
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