Corey Sandone’s project is inspired, in part, by his father’s after school program in Philadelphia
A business does not need a sign and storefront to be successful. According to Corey Sandone of Mantua and a Clearview Regional High School alum, it requires a passion to help others. Inspired by his father’s career running an after-school martial arts program in Philadelphia and his grandmother collecting food for veterans and missionaries, Sandone is in the first year of running his own small business, one that uses the funds generated to purchase identical products for foster children. The name, Lost Threads.
Much like Tom’s, the one-for-one clothing brand, Sandone’s Lost Threads sells clothing items, and with each product sold, one is donated to a foster child in the South Jersey area. All profit is put back into the business.
“When someone cares and puts effort into helping people, it does make a difference,” Sandone said, noting he learned this watching his father dedicate his life to helping the Philadelphia youth.
While he has always been passionate about helping others, another interest of his is clothing. The marriage of the two came about after finishing an English degree at Rowan University.
Of the many themes in literature, Sandone took notice of descriptions of clothing in stories and poems derived in other cultures. While cultural tastes in fashion vary, Sandone considers clothing to be a universal language of sorts.
“I want to build something universal, and give people something to talk about,” he said.
By itself, building a brand is not something new; however, by applying charity with the intent to build awareness about the high number of youth in the foster care system, Sandone is doing something unique in the area.
According to the Adoption Network Law Center, on any given day there are approximately 428,000 children in foster care in the United States.
With a logo he designed, Sandone has multiple shirts and hoodies for sale on his website, https://lostthreadsapparel.com/. He utilizes local vendors and screen printers for his products.
Knowing he would face difficulty propelling his vision off the ground, he contacted the Ticket to Dream Foundation, a nonprofit with a focus on providing hope and opportunity to foster children by partnering with businesses and communities with the same idea.
As of early May, Lost Threads has more than 50 items and is gearing up to distribute the same number later in the month with the help of the Ticket to Dream Foundation. Lost Threads items, so far, are being worn locally, in northern Jersey and even in California.
His business model is focused on organic growth.
“I don’t have a set number I want to sell this year. I don’t want to limit it,” he said.
Reflecting back on his youth, he mentioned every child should experience the gift of new clothes, adding that these clothing items represent more than what meets the eye.
“I want them to feel hope … children go into the system with little to nothing, when we donate they get something new. We all liked the feeling of a warm shirt or hoodie, feeling that security. It allows them to just be kids,” he said.
Lost Threads is something Sandone wishes to nurture into something lasting, a company that will be able to help foster youth beyond South Jersey.
It can be difficult running a business so specific and based heavily on charity; however, Sandone says one particular poem he read throughout college helped him begin this project and helps him stay motivated: “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.
The poem known the world over details a choice, a fork in the road.
“I related it to career paths — I can try do something myself or go the way everyone else wants me to go,” he said.
The difficulty of this project is something Sandone is able to translate into energy because helping others, to him, like the road in the poem, is something that “wanted wear.”
