Megan Navarro
KYLE — One local business is working to be a resource for families who need a little extra help for their students participating in various programs, including athletics.
House of DIGS, a family-owned re-commerce business, was started in Kyle earlier this year to keep usable goods out of landfills by selling curated secondhand apparel with a real focus on extended sizes — a gap that owners Andrea Candia and Geoffrey Candia found in the resale market.
“It grew out of something I'd already been exploring personally: a concept I call ‘Mining Mentality,’ the idea that you dig inward for the tools you need — self-awareness, discipline [and] courage — rather than waiting for circumstances outside yourself to change,” Geoffrey said. “I wanted to build something that put that idea into practice: a business that combined a real environmental mission with something Andrea and I could build together as a family, using the strengths we each already had — she has an eye for photography and merchandising and I like building systems and sourcing.”
Most recently, the duo launched its community clothing donation program, called Porch-to-Podium, where neighbors and school communities are asked to donate gently-used clothing, apparel and household goods to go toward House of DIGS’ inventory. The business then handles the cleaning, sorting, photographing, listing and selling the items through its resale channels.
This comes on the heels of Hays CISD implementing a sliding scale student athletic participation fee, beginning with the 2026-27 school year. The current fee schedule, according to the district’s website, is as follows:
High school
• Standard: $175 first sport, $90 second sport, $50 third sport and $315 family maximum
• Free lunch: $18 first sport, $9 second sport, $5 third sport and $32 family maximum
• Reduced lunch: $88 first sport, $45 second sport, $25 third sport and $158 family maximum
Middle school
• Standard: $100 first sport, $50 second sport, $25 third sport and $175 family maximum
• Free lunch: $10 first sport, $5 second sport, $3 third sport and $18 family maximum
• Reduced lunch: $50 first sport, $25 second sport, $13 third sport and $88 family maximum
Due to this, House of DIGS is in an active, good-faith partnership in progress with the Hays CISD Education Foundation, who will receive 10% of net resale proceeds — rising to 18% when the foundation contributes assets — from the Porch-to-Podium program and choose how to allocate the funding, whether that is for athletic fees or other initiatives, Geoffrey said.
“Recognizing that these foundations have comprehensive plans to support the entire district, we agreed to allow them to allocate the funds as they see fit. While our contributions help cover direct athletic costs, they can also support broader initiatives, ensuring that students who might otherwise be priced out of extracurricular activities have the opportunity to participate,” Geoffrey said.
Knowing that help should not be limited to just one school district, what started out in July as a simple idea of weekly neighborhood porch pickups has evolved quickly since then. The Candias have built out a route model with dedicated pickup days for each area, such as Hays CISD on Thursdays.
The same model is also in the works for the Comal ISD and San Marcos CISD education foundations.
Additionally, they have added the on-campus “Bags to Bleachers” clothing drives at Hays, Johnson and Lehman high school varsity football games, which has become the main collection method.
For anyone in Hays County who wants to get involved or request a porch pickup, visit www.houseofdigs.com or text 512-636-3922.
