Three years ago, Camie Lozier started bringing winter clothes from her house to Gallup Hill School to make sure students could stay warm and dry. Today, she runs a clothing exchange that served more than 250 kids at its Aug. 20 back-to-school event.

The Ledyard Clothing Exchange, housed at the Gallup Hill Baptist Church, provides donated children’s clothing to families, free of charge. Every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., anyone can come into the exchange. Lozier said an average Saturday sees about 12 to 20 kids, and families have come from as far as Rhode Island.

“The word has really gotten out there,” she said. “We don’t just service Ledyard and Gales Ferry, there are people coming from other towns.”

Lozier started the exchange while she was working as a paraprofessional at Gallup Hill School because she would see students come to class in the winter without jackets or boots. As a foster parent for seven years, she had some winter clothing at home and brought some items to school for the students. Then she started seeking donations to keep it going.

The exchange now accepts all new and gently used children’s clothing, and Lozier said she was amazed by how quickly everything in the exchange is picked up.

A few dozen volunteers help the exchange run smoothly by collecting donations from the bin at Little Learners Children’s Center on Gallup Hill Road, sorting through the items, setting up the exchange at their space in the Gallup Hill Church on Fridays and staffing it on Saturdays. When they encounter adult clothing or other items they can’t use, they donate to Goodwill and other local organizations.

The exchange also holds back-to-school events every year, and a summer event started this year attracted at least 160 kids and their families.

“It has grown incredibly,” Lozier said. She said the back-to-school event went from serving 90 kids the first year to more than 250 this year, and the summer event will likely return next year because it was so successful.

The only time the exchange sells items is at its Halloween fundraiser every October, when costume items donated throughout the year are sold for between $1 and $5.

Lozier commends the philanthropic spirit of the community, from the volunteers that help the exchange run smoothly to the people who donate clothing. She said Twice Is Nice, a children’s consignment shop in Mystic, has donated several clothing items after going through their stock, and the Ledyard-based tree company Sprigs and Twigs has also donated money that she used to purchase items for the exchange.

The exchange has received requests to set up a second donation bin in the Gales Ferry area, and Lozier said the exchange may consider it in the future if they can get another set of volunteers to run it like the bin in Ledyard.

Nothing sits at the exchange for long, but because more girls’ clothing is donated, they are especially in need of boys’ pants and shorts in sizes 4 through 10. Lozier said families also often request socks and underwear.

The Ledyard Clothing Exchange accepts donations of new or gently used children’s clothing at its donation bin at Little Learners Children’s Center, 130 Gallup Hill Road in Ledyard. For more information about shopping hours and events, visit the website.

a.hutchinson@theday.com