Indiana State University Newsroom

The image of a contemporary teenager with an endless closet of brand-name clothes and still “nothing to wear” permeates our society.

However, for many teenagers who belong to low-income neighborhoods, something that many of us take for granted remains out of reach. Inspired by this problem in her home community, freshman Chantelle Monday, a social work major from Indianapolis, is collecting jeans to be redistributed through Aeropostale to Terre Haute shelters that focus on teenagers.

Monday was a casual recipient of the Dosomething.org newsletter. Normally, she would click through the calls to action until she found one that struck her on a personal level. 

“To need a pair of jeans… just stuck out to me when I got the email and I was like, ‘I go to college with 13 thousand people—I'm sure maybe I can get some people to give me some jeans’."

In addition to facing this lack of resource personally, Monday came from a small school where “a lot of us always needed help, so I’ve seen it growing up my entire life.”

Her efforts began back in Indianapolis, where she posted her cause on Facebook “yardsale” sites and other social media. The response was instant and enthusiastic. During her winter break, Monday created a donation schedule and drove around town, retrieving piles of jeans from donors’ front porches and other public spaces. Her expectations were exceeded at 180 pairs of jeans in her home city.

“I didn't expect that at all,” Monday said. “Some people donated at least 40 pairs—just one person—I was like, ‘Thank you so much’. I was expecting two or three pairs per person, but even my roommate donated 14 pairs. I think it’s amazing that people just want to give [jeans] away.”

Monday believes that her cause will be successful at Indiana State. There is no official restriction on sizes, conditions, and gender of jeans, except that sweatpants will be accepted but donated to the Salvation Army, where she volunteers. Donors will also be given $5 off any $20 purchase at Aeropostale. Contact cmonday@sycamores.indstate.edu if interested in donating, and Monday will be happy to arrange the pick-up.

-30-

Contact: Chantelle Monday, freshman, Indiana State University, cmonday@sycamores.indstate.edu

Writer: Kristen Kilker, media relations assistant, 812-237-3773 or kkilker1@sycamores.indstate.edu