The Clothes Off Our Backs: Jane Kaczmarek and Bradley Whitford Give Back through Haute Couture

While actress Jane Kaczmarek is best known for her roles as television sitcom mom Lois on the popular show, Malcolm in the Middle , and as Judge Trudy Kessler on the legal drama, Raising the Bar , she and her husband, actor Bradley Whitford of The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip fame are also dedicated philanthropists. Seven years ago, the couple launched their own non-profit, Clothes Off Our Back Foundation . Their foundation takes celebrity attire and other items worn at movie premieres and award shows and auctions them off online to raise much-needed funds for a variety of children’s charities. Raise money for this non-profit and other non-profits.

Kaczmarek, 53, who grew up in a close-knit Polish family in Wisconsin that believed in buying used cars and eating leftovers for dinner, says she was embarrassed by the sheer amount of extravagant gifts bestowed upon her and Whitford after they moved to Southern California and became successful television actors.

“It was truly an embarrassment of riches,” she says. “We wondered if there was a way we could use these items for the greater good and raise money for charity.”

In 2002, the couple launched Clothes Off Our Back, and to date have raised over $4 million for children’s charities. Each year, their non-profit picks three children’s charities – one national group, one international, and one in Los Angeles, to receive funding for the year. This year’s recipients include The Art of Elysium , an organization that helps seriously ill children in the Los Angeles area through art; Feeding America , a food bank working to end hunger; and Hope North , an organization that rehabilitates child soldiers in Uganda.

At their first online auction, Clothes Off Our Back raised an impressive $87,200 for charity with items donated by celebrities including Jennifer Garner, Brad Pitt, and Courteney Cox Arquette.

“Jennifer Aniston’s vintage Christian Dior gown that she wore when she won an Emmy in 2002, brought in $50,000 for UNICEF which paid for 50,000 immunizations for children in Africa,” Kaczmarek says. “A woman bought the gown for her niece to wear to the prom.”

Michel Schneider, executive director of Clothes Off Our Back, says the bidders who purchase clothing at the online auctions aren’t celebrities themselves.

“Most of our customers are everyday people who purchase attire to wear to weddings or proms, or to keep as mementos,” Schneider says. “We have quite a few repeat customers, which is nice, and our customers tell us they love being able to purchase great items while also giving to worthy charities.”

Schneider says that celebrities including Jennifer Garner, Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Seacrest, Patricia Heaton, the cast of Desperate Housewives, Mariska Hargitay, Cheryl Hines, Kristin Chenoweth and many others donate on a regular basis to Clothes Off Our Back. In addition, many designers and stylists support the non-profit.

“It’s really a win-win situation for everyone,” Kaczmarek says. “Once a celebrity has been photographed in an outfit, it’s typically relegated to the back of their closet. This way, the item is given a new life while also supporting a worthwhile charitable cause.”

Kaczmarek is also proud that 100% of each auction’s proceeds go directly to children’s charities.

“We have several sponsors, and Bradley and I pay for the overhead,” she says. “I think people feel good knowing their donations are going directly to help children rather than to pay for office space or stationary.”

An ardent supporter of Smile Train , a non-profit organization that provides free cleft palate surgeries to children in need, Kaczmarek plans to travel to India this fall with the organization.

As parents of three children – Frances, 11, George, 9 and Mary Louisa, 7 – Kaczmarek and her husband strongly believe in teaching their children to give back to their community, and have encouraged the children to ask guests to make charitable donations instead of buying gifts for their birthdays.

“How many toys do kids really need?” Kaczmarek says with a laugh. “We’ve had our children donate to organizations including Smile Train and the Children’s Defense Fund . This year, for the first time, we let Frances choose a charity of her choice, and she chose a local animal rescue organization.”

The non-profit recently partnered with Little Black Dress wines to offer an auction featuring little black dresses worn by celebrities, as well as autographed bottles of wine, with proceeds benefitting Clothes Off Our Backs. Kaczmarek also partnered with the Red Dress collection fashion show earlier this year to promote women’s heart health. All of the gowns featured in the fashion show were then auctioned off online to benefit the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH).

Given the current economy, Kaczmarek is pleased that Clothes Off Our Back continues to thrive.

“We’re so grateful that we are still raising money despite the economic downturn,” she says. “We’ve never aspired to be the biggest game in town; we see ourselves as a boutique charity, and it makes me really happy to discover a small non-profit organization that benefits children and to be able to raise some money for them.”

By Linda Childers