At The Love Club, a heartfelt initiative that blends fashion with giving, Lauren Walker-Lee is on a mission to make a difference in the lives of mothers and babies. After becoming a mom herself, she realized the pressing need for support in her community and turned to her network in the fashion industry to help. By transforming surplus fabric into beautiful, practical baby clothing and partnering with local charities, The Love Club is creating a ripple effect of kindness and care. With every stitch, they’re giving both moms and babies the love and dignity they deserve.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and The Love Club?
I would love to! The Love Club is a charitable initiative supporting babies and mothers in need. We create our own line of babywear using end of roll surplus fabric that may otherwise be discarded and donate it onwards to registered non profits in the GTA who support women and children. I am a fashion creative and stylist in my day to day, and wanted to better connect the dots with the fashion and apparel industry to help those in need. Clothing is a necessity that offers a sense of pride and dignity, and that is the basis for The Love Club- every mother and baby deserves to feel loved and supported no matter their circumstance. We create these thoughtful on trend pieces in beautiful fabric (new with tags of course) and gift those to our littlest people.
What inspired you to start this nonprofit, and how did you identify the specific needs of moms and babies in your community?
After the birth of my first baby in December 2023 I helped a mother with newborn diapers and formula and that was the moment I couldn’t stop thinking about what else I could do. Fashion being my network was my starting point and I thought if I could get my hands of deadstock fabric I could reinvent the idea of the knitting circles and approach sewers, designers and fashion students to give back with their skilled hands. My aim was to create a sustainable initiative that fused community, clothing and collaboration for those who felt aligned to support. I reached out to non profits in the GTA to brainstorm and ask if there was the need. They immediately said yes and welcomed my help, they also assisted in my steep learning curve in regards to the charity sector. There is a vast need and a broken system but we seem to just have so much product floating around this earth. I know the fashion and beauty industry well and we all know the world of Amazon and social media. I wanted to make sense of it and see if redistribution and repurposing was possible to funnel it to those who need it most by reaching out to brands and requesting product donations to compliment our mission.
What specific services or programs do you offer to moms and babies
At The Love Club, we produce and donate our own line of baby clothing called “Club Kid” to registered charities.The women’s organisations we have partnered with are doing very hard work on the ground and we wanted to offer a gift of love and support. Via fabric donations and skilled volunteers who share in our vision we are able to turn the surplus fabric that may otherwise be discarded into quality clothing. Being assisted by Canadian manufacturing and local talent is very thrilling. I must say thank you here to George Brown College, The Fashion Exchange, CRW Design, Kendor Textiles, Adrienne from OKAYOK and Michael Zoffranieri, plus many kind souls helped this ship to rise with their kind hearts. We also seek product donations for both mom and baby from brands big and small.
What are some of your short-term and long-term goals for The Love Club? What do you envision for the future?
My aim is to take it province-wide and expand our charity partners to support more. I’d love to be known as a hub that “gets product, makes product, and gives product” Continuing to provide a solution with both social and environmental impact. There are also a lot of fundraising ideas and collaborations to embark on as well as growing the team one step at a time. Being under a year ourselves we are walking before we run, and looking forward to growing into the shape we were meant to be.
How can individuals or families get involved with or support your nonprofit?
We would be grateful for support in spreading the word and assisting with our first fundraising efforts. We are able to offer instant tax receipts through our partner the Veritas Foundation. Following us on Instagram and spreading the world means a lot to us as we are quite new to this world! I welcome anyone to DM or email to get involved to build our community and collaborate- we are really just getting started with fantastic mission-based possibilities on the horizon. Whether you donate, volunteer, or simply spread the word, every bit helps. The Love Club is building its network aiming to pool ideas, skills, and resources attracting like minds and kind hearts to further its vision to clothe every baby with love and dignity.
Get involved!
Give them a follow @thelovelcub_xo
Via their Donate page
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