WASHOUGAL — When Jennifer Samodurov was growing up in Santa Barbara, Calif., she felt ostracized being a poor kid in an affluent area. That’s why she sympathizes with homeless students in the Camas School District, where their poverty sticks out among the area’s general wealth.
“That was a battle for me,” said Samodurov, 44. “I have always been drawn to fashion although I grew up in a circumstance where I could not afford that fashion. So, I’ve always thrift store shopped and gone to yard sales.”
The Washougal resident looks to help homeless or otherwise impoverished girls in Clark County by offering a personal shopping service through Flawless360, a new and growing nonprofit. Clients explain what their style is, what they need and what size they are. Drawing on her fine arts and design background, Samodurov sifts through clothing and shoes donated by people in the community to put together outfits that could be a good fit.
The goal is to let every teenage girl they help “know that they deserve to feel loved and beautiful,” Samodurov said. “Giving them one less thing to focus on is our mission.”
It’s the kind of styling service one might get shopping at Nordstrom or a high-end boutique.
Often, Samodurov doesn’t know clients’ names. They’re “boho girl” or “hippy girl” or “grunge girl” — monikers that reflect their style. Confidentiality and discreetness is a major part of how the nonprofit operates; Samodurov drops off paper bags of clothing at the schools.
“We want to make sure that those girls, when they’re receiving this gift of love, that they’re receiving it without shame and receiving it without judgment,” she said.
Preferably, girls are referred to the nonprofit through school counselors or homeless liaisons. That way Samodurov can work with staff to coordinate clothing deliveries and ensure that the students are being wrapped into other services offered by the school.
Flawless360 will have a booth at Mountain View High School’s Thunder Third Thursday, a resource fair kicking off today.
Relieving a burden
Samodurov helped her first client in August. By November, Flawless360 was established at a handful of high schools in Camas and Washougal, and then expanded to middle schools in that area. Last month, Flawless360 officially became a nonprofit, receiving 501(c)(3) certification just before expanding to the Vancouver, Battle Ground and Evergreen school districts.
Most of the donations are sorted and organized in bins and racks in a bedroom at Samodurov’s house. In the bedroom — now more of a large walk-in closet — she’ll put together outfits and post photos on the website to give people an idea of the clothing she carries. She also texts clients with outfit options to better gauge what they like.
“It’s really about trying to make them feel as special as they are,” she said.
The name is a nod to “Flawless” by MercyMe, a song that talks about how people are flawless in the eyes of God, Samodurov said. And, the 360 refers to the local area code. Samodurov eventually plans to expand Flawless360 beyond Clark County.
Typically, she has trouble getting clothing in larger sizes, 16 up to 3X. When she doesn’t have something in stock, she texts a handful of women referred to as “angels.” One of her clients said she had never owned a bra and was a size 38DDD. So, one of the angels ordered it online and shipped it to Samodurov.
“The girl was just over the moon, in tears,” she said.
More than 2,000 students in Clark County were homeless at one point during the 2014-2015 school year.
Samodurov had a client who only owned one outfit. Another didn’t have a rain jacket or rain boots, even though she walked to the bus every school day. A girl, who turned 18 and moved from a youth shelter to an adult shelter, said she hadn’t been given a Christmas gift since she was 6 years old.
“Yeah, she’s 18, but she’s a child. She’s a child of God. She’s somebody who deserves to feel special and deserves to feel the love and warmth that so many of us take for granted,” Samodurov said.
Samodurov knows she’s not solving homelessness, but she said Flawless360 is about relieving one burden and helping girls living in difficult situations feel more confident. She doesn’t give out torn or tarnished clothing. Anything that doesn’t work for her clients is either recycled or given to other nonprofits.
“There really is enough clothing in the world to go around,” Samodurov said.
