The good Cornellians can do: Terry Chambers ’88

So far this school year, Terry Chambers ’88 has provided more than 230 students in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with back-to-school clothes. Terry’s nonprofit, K12 Outfitters, sources new and used clothing from donations and local thrift stores, assembles mini wardrobes for students, and distributes the free clothing through their schools.

Each mini wardrobe contains new undergarments, shirts, pants, a hoody, and a pair of sneakers. Terry knows how much the students appreciate having these clothes to wear. She recently delivered a new pair of sneakers to a high school boy whose old pair was two sizes too small.

“The guidance counselor called me, and she was in tears because the boy was so excited,” Terry says. “He came in her office, took the sneakers out of the bag, threw his old ones in the trash, put the new ones on, and walked out with confidence!”

Terry studied textile and apparel management at Cornell, and she owned two consignment clothing stores in Pennsylvania before relocating to South Carolina during the pandemic. She saw the need in her community, where 63% of students in the Horry County school district are living in poverty.

“I wanted to help the students succeed by having more confidence and wanting to go to school to learn—versus counting the minutes to go back home because he/she has the same outfit on for the past two weeks,” Terry says.

Terry purchases the clothing, assembles the wardrobes, and recruits a few neighbors to help distribute the clothes. Since she started K12 Outfitters in September 2024, she has delivered almost 1,000 wardrobes to students at 25 area schools.

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