Statesboro stores, Runway, Social and Dish are holding a denim drive for the month of February to raise money for the First Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia.

“We try to do a charity event for the spring. Being a part of the community, we feel like it is important to give back to the community and I feel like people don’t look through their jeans very much as things they want to get rid of,” Rachel Mosher, the business manager of the stores said of the denim drive idea.

Donations will be collected at all three locations until March 1.The denim collected will be donated to the youth group at First Baptist Church and will in turn be given to homeless shelters in Macon.

No stranger to philanthropy, in the past the boutiques have done a general clothing drive, partnered with Georgia Southern University sororities and donated to local events, such as GSU's Junk 2 Funk fashion show that was hosted by the fashion merchandising department last semester.

At each boutique location, students and Statesboro residents can donate their old jeans of any size and style. The boutiques are accepting men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, in wearable condition.

As an incentive, contributors will receive a discount towards the purchase of a pair of new jeans for every pair of denim that they donate to the stores. Customers also have the option of receiving a voucher to use the discount at a later date.

“Designer jeans are our biggest seller, so if you bring in a pair of jeans you can get a pair,” Shrioni Hunnel, Dish employee and senior fashion merchandising and apparel design major, said. 

The drive, scheduled to run until the end of next week, has been a success so far. According to Hunnel, at least ten pairs of jeans have been donated to Dish and even more at the other boutiques.

“We’ve had a lot people bring in jeans without the desire to get new ones,” Hunnel said.

“I feel like it’s awesome that an established business is giving back and using their popularity to influence others,” Amanda Ross, junior public relations major said.