Teen helps the homeless with ‘upcycle, uplift’ motto
Jan 24, 2018, 10:16 AM | Updated: Oct 1, 2024, 7:39 am
Dillon Eisman is a unique Los Angeles teenager. His free time is spent bent over a sewing machine thinking of others.
“I thought to myself ‘I could do this for a lot of people’ and make them feel good,'” Eisman told CBS News.
He turns thrift-store finds into refurbished fashion pieces. Selling them for a cause.
The 17-year-old started Sew Swag so he could donate his updated clothing to Los Angeles-area shelters. He does this not by handing them off to a shelter, but by hosting trendy pop-up shops outside the shelters.
“When you actually get to meet people who are on the street it really changes inside of you and you feel like you have to a have a mission to help out,” Eisman said.
His work caught the attention of Caitlin Adler, whose non-profit collects and redistributes used clothing. She partnered with Dillon to bring her used inventory into the 21st-century fashion scene.
Their motto: Upcycle, uplift.
“I’m already interested in fashion and if I can use that to help others it’s just a win-win. This is just the beginning,” Eisman said.
CBS News says Dillon hopes one day he can take his mission worldwide, ensuring no one who receives secondhand clothes ever feels second rate.
If you have a Daily Dose of Kindness to share with Colleen, email her at cobrien@kiroradio.com.
You can hear Colleen O’Brien’s “Daily Dose of Kindness” segment every morning at 7:30 a.m. on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM.
