Meet Haley Ballenger | Cofounder of Fort Worth Community Collaborative

We had the good fortune of connecting with Haley Ballenger, Co-founder of Fort Worth Community Collaborative (FWCC),  and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Haley, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Fort Worth Community Collaborative, or FWCC for short, started out as a “why not” between friends.

I’m lucky to be a part of a large group of mom friends, and it just so happens that our kids are stair-stepped in age. We would swap our kids’ clothes as they outgrew them, and eventually it led to an even bigger swap with members of a Facebook group. Things really took off from there. After one particularly successful swap meet, Kelly, FWCC’s other co-founder, looked at me and said, “ We’ve helped a lot of families today, and I bet there are a lot that need help, but they’re outside of our Facebook reach. We should start a non-profit to help distribute all of this clothing”.  We looked at each other and said, “Why not”?. The rest is history!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am so proud of the work that FWCC does! We are the only organization in Fort Worth that offers a completely free shopping experience. We never charge for items or enforce any item limits. All of our inventory is donated to us, so why would we charge the community members to take anything? We like to say “We don’t need to know your why, we are just here to help”.

We partner with other nonprofits and community centers to host our pop-up shops, usually once a month. We supply clothing, shoes and accessories for every size and gender identity. Our inventory ranges from preemie and newborn to men and women’s 4XL.

We have been incredibly fortunate to collaborate with other amazing groups like Texas Christian University (TCU), LVT Rise, Fortress, NorthSide Inter Community Agency (NICA) and LGBTQ Saves, just to name a few.

Since April 2023, we have distributed over 3,000 lbs of clothing to over 600 shoppers.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Fort Worth is like a really small town spread out over a really big city. Everything just moves a little bit slower here.

Its official motto is “Where the west begins”, but it’s so much more than that! We really embrace our Cowtown identity, but we also have world-class cultural attractions such as the Kimbell and Modern Art Museums, the Water Garden, the Botanical Garden and the Fort Worth Zoo.

FWCC loves to support as many local businesses as possible. A few of our favorites are Enchiladas Ole, Heim BBQ, Zoli’s Pizza, Fuego Burger, Spiral Diner, Black Coffee, Leaves Book and Tea Shop and The Dock Bookshop.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Fort Worth is like a really small town spread out over a really big city. Everything just moves a little bit slower here.

Its official motto is “Where the west begins”, but it’s so much more than that! We really embrace our Cowtown identity, but we also have world-class cultural attractions such as the Kimbell and Modern Art Musems, the Water Garden, the Botanical Garden and the Fort Worth Zoo.

FWCC loves to support as many local businesses as possible. A few of our favorites are Joe T. Garcia’s, Heim BBQ, Gemelle, Black Coffee, Leaves Book and Tea Shop and The Dock Bookshop,

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
FWCC would not be possible without the support and encouragement of  the Facebook Group, Fort Worth Weird Moms. We’re beyond hashtag blessed to have this incredible group of our fellow moms cheering us on and helping FWCC become a reality! Kelly and I are also eternally grateful to our spouses for believing in us and looking the other way when we had to store our overflowing inventory in our garages and dining rooms.

Website: Www.fwcollab.org

Instagram: @FWCommunityCollab

Linkedin: Www.LinkedIn.com/company/fort-worth-community-collaborative/

Facebook: @FWCommunityCollab