Host a Bloom Swap

Your hall. Our racks. Your column is short on purpose.

Bloom owns the clothing, stores it, sorts it, launders it, delivers it the day before and takes it away the day after. You provide a room, a weekend, and dates set together at least sixty days out. Hosting a clothing swap costs your congregation or organization nothing.

Tell us about your spaceRead the playbook
Two days
No storage
No cost
Full kit

The plain answer

What hosting actually asks of you.

A host clothing swap is a room of racks for one weekend, run to a written playbook, with the clothes arriving sorted and leaving the same way.

Most groups that consider hosting a clothing swap stop at the same question: where would we keep it all, and who would sort it? With Bloom Swap you keep nothing and sort nothing. The inventory belongs to Bloom Ministries. It is washed and sorted by size and style before it leaves storage, it arrives on rolling racks the day before your swap, and it leaves the day after. Your people greet guests, re-hang what gets tried on, and point to the quiet corner.

Bloom takes on

  • Owns and stores every piece of clothing
  • Sorts and launders before anything reaches a rack
  • Runs the volunteer sort days
  • Delivers the day before, removes the day after
  • Supplies the playbook, signage, intake sheets and the access card

You provide

  • A room and a weekend
  • Dates set together at least sixty days out
  • One contact who answers email
  • Two or more volunteers from your community
  • Your own premises coverage for your building

That is the whole arrangement, and it is the same one the playbook lays out day by day.

Receipts

Three numbers to plan around.

60days ahead, the latest a date is set with you
T−1 / T+1racks arrive the day before and leave the day after
$0what hosting costs your congregation or organization
Not yet countedhost venues signed, counted from records

Readiness check

Is your space ready? Eight questions, no score.

Answer honestly. The result tells you whether to write to us now, or what to sort out first. Nothing you tick is sent anywhere.

  1. 01A room that fits six or more rolling racks with space to walk between them

    A fellowship hall or a large classroom is usually enough. Send us photos and we will plan the layout with you.

  2. 02A step-free entrance

    Required at every swap. If there is a single step, tell us about it; a portable ramp sometimes solves it.

  3. 03An accessible restroom

    Tell us what you have. A nearby accessible restroom can work if it is clearly signposted.

  4. 04A corner that can be screened for changing

    A curtain or a divider is enough. We will plan it together.

  5. 05Parking or public transit nearby

    Tell us the nearest stop and what parking there is; the board lists it for guests.

  6. 06Two or more volunteers from your community

    Bloom trains them with the playbook. Bloom volunteers can fill gaps.

  7. 07A free weekend in the next six months

    Dates are set together at least sixty days out, so a later date is fine.

  8. 08One contact who answers email within a few days

    That person is who the Chancery plans with. Nobody else needs to be involved.

0 of 8 answered

Answer each question.

If every answer is yes, your space is ready. Any “not yet” shows what to sort out first, with a way to do it.

Ready

Your space is ready for a swap.

Tell us about it and the Chancery replies within two business days.

Tell us about your space

Nearly

Sort these out first. None of them is a reason to stop.

    Ask us anyway

    Choose your setting

    Where you would host.

    Congregations, campuses and community organizations host for different reasons and with different rooms. Each has its own page.

    01A congregationA concrete act of welcome in the hall you already have. Two days, no committee.For congregations02A campus or organizationStudent unions, clinics and community rooms, where people already gather.For organizations03The playbookSixty days, start to finish: dates, kit, volunteers, the room, the day and the note after.Read the playbook04A clothing driveNot ready to host a swap? Collect clothes for neighbors without homes instead.Run a drive

    The calendar

    A weekend, start to finish.

    From the first call to the impact note, every host swap runs on the same calendar, so nothing lands on your front desk the week of.

    1. T−60

      Dates set together

      At least sixty days out. Once a date is on the calendar it does not move.

      Together
    2. T−45

      The kit ships

      Signage, table tents, intake sheets and the access card arrive at your door.

      Bloom
    3. T−30

      Volunteers confirmed

      Your two or more, trained with the playbook; Bloom volunteers fill gaps.

      Host
    4. T−14

      The announcement

      To the Bloom list and the region. Share the template text in your own channels.

      Bloom
    5. T−7

      The room plan

      Racks, the changing corner, the quiet corner, the greeter’s table: agreed on one page.

      Together
    6. T−1

      Delivery and set-up

      Racks arrive sorted by size and style. Bloom sets the room.

      Bloom
    7. Day

      The swap

      Greet, re-hang, point to the quiet corner. No photos, no questions, no one at the door.

      Host
    8. T+1

      Pickup

      Everything leaves. What was not taken returns to storage for the next swap or a drive.

      Bloom
    9. +30

      The impact note

      What went out, counted from the ledger, in writing, within thirty days.

      Bloom

    Bloom does it · Host does it · Together we agree it

    What happens next

    What happens after you write.

    1. We reply within two business days

      The Chancery writes back to set up a call. Nothing is booked yet.

    2. A call about your room

      Size, entrance, restroom, parking or transit, and the weekends that could work.

    3. Photos or a visit

      We look at the space with you and agree the room plan.

    4. Dates, sixty days out

      Set together. Once a date is on the calendar, it does not move.

    5. The kit arrives

      Signage, table tents, intake sheets and the access card, by forty-five days before.

    Start here

    Tell us about your space. Nothing is booked until you say yes.

    The form asks what you are, where you are, and a little about the room. It takes about three minutes.

    swap-host
    Add a phone number in the notes if you prefer a call.
    Rough size, floor, entrance (steps?), restroom, parking or transit, anything else.

    We keep what you send only as long as we need it to help you, and never sell or share it. Or write to swap@bloomministries.org.

    Rather talk first? Write to swap@bloomministries.org and a person replies.

    FAQ

    Questions hosts ask

    Still asking? Write to swap@bloomministries.org and a person answers.

    Does hosting cost anything?

    No. Bloom supplies the clothing, racks, hangers, signage and intake materials, and handles delivery and removal. A host provides space and a weekend.

    How big does the room need to be?

    Roughly the size of a fellowship hall or a large classroom works well, with space for racks and a place to change. The readiness check walks through the rest.

    Do we have to store anything?

    No. The racks arrive the day before and leave the day after. Nothing stays in your building.

    Who staffs the swap?

    Your volunteers greet and re-hang; Bloom trains them with the playbook and the conduct rules. Bloom volunteers can help where needed.

    Can we ask guests to register or give a name?

    No. Every Bloom Swap is open to anyone without ID, names or questions. Safety at a swap explains why, and it is a condition of hosting.

    What if a guest needs more than clothes?

    Every guest is offered the Bloom network: crisis support, relocation help and free peer groups. The access card says how.

    Keep going

    Where to go from here.

    NextThe playbookThe sixty-day calendar, the room, the signs and the rules, before you say yes to hosting.NextCongregationsFor pastors and councils: what hosting asks of your hall and your people, and what it never asks.NextCampuses & organizationsStudent unions, clinics and community rooms: what hosting looks like where people already gather.NextUpcoming swapsEvery announced swap, by city, and the list that hears two weeks before a swap near you.

    Host a swap

    Put a swap on your calendar.

    Tell us about your room and the weekends that could work. The Chancery replies within two business days.

    Tell us about your spaceRead the sixty-day playbook

    If your congregation needs support rather than a project, Bloom’s pastoral care is free