Richmond Register – August 17, 2009
Who needs a sale? It’s free!
Clothing closet to open soon
Ronica Shannon Register News Writer
Kirksville Baptist Church and a local non-profit organization have teamed up to offer free clothing to those in need. There will be a clothing giveaway the last two Saturdays in August (Aug. 22 and Aug. 29) from 9 a.m. to noon at the Kirksville Community Center.
The clothes closet spawned from a giveaway hosted by the church after the May tornado, according to Tara Mitchell, president of Wingspan, a non-profit group formed out of Kirksville Baptist Church.
“We asked for donations through our church and we gathered up clothes from our own homes,” Mitchell said. “It grew and we had a whole lot (of donations).”
Types of clothing ranges from coats to back-to-school clothes. All categories of clothing will be available including baby clothing, children’s, women’s and men’s clothing, Mitchell said. A variety of household items also will be available.
There will be no forms to fill out and no financial requirements for the free items, she said. “If they’re in need, then it’s going to be available for them,” she said.
Representatives of the Kirksville Community Center allowed the group to use one of its classrooms to store the clothing and other items.
“We’ve filled up that classroom so they gave us the one next door,” she said.
There are about eight active workers who volunteer their time to assist with the clothing drive and help during the giveaways. “We’ve had people that we don’t even know drop off clothes at the church,” Mitchell said. “I guess word gets around.”
The tornado gave the volunteers a taste of what it was like to help the community, and it was contagious. “It just feels amazing because we’re so blessed that we are able to help others,” she said.
The clothes closet will be open on Aug. 22 and 29, as well as in September. “After that, we’re going to open up the closet the third Saturday of every month,” she said. “But, if someone has a loss because of a certain circumstance, they can call the church at 328-4922. We’ll meet them at the community center and open it up to them to get what they need.”
Those who would like to donate clothing or household items can drop them off at the Kirksville Baptist Church at 542 Kirksville Road.
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.
