Pleasanton school district will hold a soft opening of its new donation closet, The Hangar, Thursday night for low-income residents to receive free clothing.

The donation closet in room 703B at Village High School will open Thursday from 6-8 p.m., director of special education Marla Silversmith said. The district is also encouraging families to donate clothing they no longer need.

"They just need to be someone who has a need. They don't have to have a student in the district," she said. "We just know that we have extra clothes in the community, and we want to turn it around and make sure everyone has a warm winter."

The donation room will open officially during a ceremony in January, she said.

The Hangar will be staffed by Pleasanton Unified special education students who will learn critical job-training skills as part of the curriculum. Students sixth grade and up will be able to participate in running the shop.

"They're learning things like washing and folding and hanging and also learning personal shopping for people," Silversmith said.

Families who would like to donate items can drop them off at the donation room or at the district's special education office at 4661 Bernal Ave.

"One of the big things we're hearing from parents is, 'My kid is going to grow out of these shorts before next year.' So give them to us," she said. "We have everything from baby clothes to suits to rain coats. We're open to taking anything. We're just trying to build it right now."