Westchase dance and theater academy to host clothing swap Saturday

WESTCHASE — Jennifer Dawson-Waz, owner of Dawson Dance and Theater Academy, saw the signs in the smallest of things.

The fathers she'd never met before who started to show up.

The tuition checks signed by Grandma and Grandpa instead of Mom and Dad.

The dwindling volunteer roster as moms returned to work.

And so it seemed, the economic downturn had arrived in Westchase with a thud like the morning paper landing on a manicured lawn.

"There's a lot of status and importance on where you are in life here," said Waz, who opened the school on Race Track Road three years ago. "So people might not want to express it if the economy is affecting them, but I can see it."

In an effort to help out parents who feel pinched in their pocketbooks, Waz is hosting a children's clothing swap Saturday at her dance studio. The swap, which is also intended to be a social event, is especially for moms looking for a night out and is sponsored by Clorox Green Works.

The clothing swap is open to the public. But, it's pegged as a "mom's night out." There will be food and drinks and goodie bags provided by local businesses.

One baby or child's outfit gets you into the swap. The clothes will be displayed along the studio's ballet bars. There is no limit on how many items a participant can take home.

"As long as people aren't walking out with armloads of clothes it's okay," Waz said.

Across the country, Clorox Green Works is encouraging people to host clothing swaps by offering free samples of its natural cleaning products for those who do. The idea is that recycling clothes helps save the environment. A massive children's clothing swap is also taking place in New York on Saturday.

The idea to do a swap came to Waz about a month ago when she started seeing signs of the economy taking a toll on her customers.

Among them, Tina Aurora, a parent whose daughter attends the academy. Her husband was recently laid off from work.

"Everybody I know is either selling their house or going back to work," Aurora said, who lives in the Waterchase subdivision. "It kind of makes me comforted on one hand, but I feel bad that it has come to that."

Nicole Hutcheson can be reached at nhutcheson@sptimes.com or (813)226-3405.