Imagine not having enough money to buy food for your family. You have a five year old, a three year old, and a newborn. You’ve been out of work for almost a year and a half now and unemployment money ran out a long time ago. With California’s unemployment rate at 11.6% it’s been so difficult for you to find a job interview, let alone a job.

Out of nowhere one of the hundreds of places you applied at calls you in for an interview. You are so excited you run and tell your wife and you praise Jesus that you finally got at least an interview! Then you realize you have one problem. Because you haven’t had any money for bills or food you haven’t gotten new clothes in a really long time. The clothes you do have are worn out and full of holes or stains. You get really nervous about your interview.

How is the employer going to take you seriously when you show up at your interview with stains and holes in your clothes? Your confidence level plummets. Thankfully your friend tells you about the Dream Center and how they have an outreach that offers free clothes. You go on a Tuesday morning and find a nice business suit all for free. Your confidence returns and you go into your interview feeling sure of yourself and ready to land that job.

The Dream Center’s His Hands Clothing Outreach helps clothe tons of people every month. They receive donations from so many different means. They can come from people dropping off gently used clothing or they can get a shipment from stores when they had a surplus of clothes they cannot sell or clothes with minor faults with the clothes. His Hands receives donations from places like Target and Pac Sun.

Jules Sanchez is no stranger to His Hands. He has been coming for four years now. Jules says that His Hands has been able to provide clothes he normally wouldn’t be able to afford. Once he walked out with a pair of snakeskin Valentino shoes that sell in stores for $800! He’s also worn our clothes at some of the greatest moments of his life.

Jules was wearing clothes from His Hand’s when he sang the National Anthem at Dodgers Stadium, when he auditioned for American Idol, when he sang for offering at Angelus Temple, when he interviewed and got his job as a photographer at Dodgers Stadium, and most recently at Michael Jackson’s memorial service.

Jules’ mother was the one that introduced him to His Hands. She was coming to get meals at our cafeteria and saw the outreach. Jules was so impacted by what was going on with the clothing outreach that he placed an ad on Craigslist urging people to donate their clothes to His Hands Extended instead of other places that charge people for the clothes. At His Hands you can come and shop and choose a certain number of items entirely for free.

The ability to receive the gift of clothes isn’t the only reason he comes. Jules says he feels totally welcome at His Hands and uses it as a ministry to speak into the lives of those around him. He lives by the saying that states, “When faith is undeniable, success is inevitable and there’s no way you can fail.”

Sandy, who runs His Hands along with our Discipleship women, said that His Hands always communicates with other ministries and is used as a tool to bring those who shop at His Hands to church and to other outreaches like Discipleship. In the words of Jules, “His Hands is a hand up, not a hand out.”