24 | JANUARY 19 • 2023

OUR COMMUNITY

L

ike any boy who wants to look like
his father, E.M. Cohen, 7, of Oak
Park was desperate to own his own
suit. His mother, Mindy, balked; he would
likely outgrow a suit pretty quickly and
suits could be expensive. A few months
ago, Mindy was on Mrs. Schwab’s patio,
flicking through some boy’s clothes when
she came across two brand new boy’s suits
— in exactly E.M’s size. One came with a
matching vest and tie and still had the tags
on it! The price, like everything else on Mrs.
Schwab’s patio, was free.
Mindy took the suits home and E.M
was absolutely ecstatic. He immedi-
ately got dressed, posed for pictures
and proudly wears a suit to shul every
Shabbat, thrilled that he’s dressed just like
his father.
Welcome to Ohel Leah, a clothing
gemach, which is an abbreviation of the
Hebrew words gemilut chasadim, acts of
loving kindness. Everyone is invited to
come and browse the racks of beautiful
clothing and take whatever they want. The
gemach is located on the well-lit front patio
of Mrs. Schwab’s Oak Park house under a
large, weather-proof roof.
“I’ve been doing this for over 30 years,
”

Mrs. Schwab said. “We started really small;
people just dropped off the clothes their
families weren’t wearing anymore and over
the years, it mushroomed. We became fan-
cier! It used to be in a regular tent, but that
didn’t work out too well, with the weather.
”

NON-STOP DONATIONS
There’s a whole system. Community mem-
bers are invited to leave bags of clothing on
Mrs. Schwab’s porch, but she’s very particu-
lar about what she accepts. She doesn’t want
anything that even looks used to be in her
gemach.
“We don’t take anything stained, torn,
out of date or old-fashioned,
” Mrs. Schwab
said. “
And we’re always overwhelmed with
bags all the time, especially before Pesach
… People never stop giving. It’s amazing
how many bags we get each week! It’s just
incredible.
”
It can be hard for people to discard their
much-loved worn clothing and, although
Mrs. Schwab won’t accept them for Ohel
Leah, she does help with that as well. On
the side of her house is a huge yellow bin
for used clothing. A driver from Midwest
Recycling, formerly Planet Aid, comes out
weekly, weighs it and sends all that clothing
to the needy in third-world
countries. Mrs. Schwab gets
paid per pound, which she
uses to buy overstock or
unsold seasonal outfits, direct-
ly feeding the funds back into
the gemach.
Each Sunday morning,
Mrs. Schwab and her team of
regular volunteers — Susanna
Recha Klein, Leah Sarne,
Yehudis Rabinowitz and Judy
Ishakis — sort through the
week’s accumulated bags,

deciding what’s nice enough to put out and
what’s not.
“Most of the clothes that come in are
absolutely gorgeous,
” Mrs. Schwab said.
“Lots of things still have store tags on them!
It’s probably easier for people to donate
them than to deal with returns. Many look
new, are hardly worn … I’m not exaggerat-
ing! If it’s not, it goes in the yellow bin.
”
After the sorting, volunteer Eileen Baum
arrives; she hangs everything on hangers
and puts them on the right racks. Sections
are clearly and neatly labeled: infants, boys,
girls, ladies, men, school uniforms, shoes,
books, toys. Every Sunday afternoon, three
siblings, all Bais Yaakov high schoolers,
come by to hang up anything Baum didn’t
get to.
“The best time to come by and shop
is Monday morning,
” Mrs. Schwab said.
“That’s when all new stuff is hanging up.
”
Donations come in more forms than just
clothes. For the past 10 years, Jennifer Ribiat

Free clothes for everyone on
Mrs. Schwab’s Oak Park porch.

Welcome to

Ohel Leah

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A very happy
E.M. Cohen
in his new
suit from
Mrs. Schwab