Last year, a group of local people decided to do something to make a difference in the lives of their neighbors and those fighting poverty around the world.
The brainchild of Rwandan refugee Providence Rubingisa, Stuff for the Poor was born when Rubingisa teamed up with Wilmington resident Christina Dyer.
Since then, the group has collected over 20,000 pounds of apparel items including 10,348 pairs of shoes.
The aim of Stuff for the Poor is to use unwanted American goods to lift the world's citizens out of poverty.
On Tuesday, Jan. 8, "Stuff" shipped its very first container full of shoes and clothing to Tanzania in Africa.
Instead of handing out clothes and shoes to the poor, Stuff sells containers of goods to African brokers who sell the goods at discounted rates. The funds gathered from the sale of the containers are then used to fund community development projects in the Third World.