Published: July 24, 2008 11:45 am            

Gifts for all seasons

Western Heights Giving away clothes Saturday

It’s official: Despite high prices, hard times and hot temperatures, school WILL begin this fall and winter WILL come.

To help the community get ready, Western Heights Baptist Church is holding a free clothing giveaway from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the church, 2305 W. Beech.

“We will have clothing of all sizes for all seasons,” said Pam Gdanski, chairman. “It might be hot now, but winter coats will be welcome one of these days soon. We also have shoes, backpacks, a few toys, Bibles, tools and a variety of other items, all free to anyone who can use them.

“There are no income guidelines and no restrictions. Everyone is welcome, no questions asked.”

Unlike the garage sales of last weekend, the church’s offerings are free and can be browsed in air-conditioned comfort in its new fellowship hall. Items are sorted by size, and most are hung on hangers or folded on tables for easy access.

“And many of these items are brand-new,” Gdanski said. “We have everything from baby clothes to women’s sizes and everything in between.”

“And LOTS of shoes,” a volunteer helping sort and arrange the items offered.

This will be the fourth time the church has offered the clothing ministry to the community. The first event drew more than 300 people, and subsequent offerings have averaged around 200 “shoppers,” Gdanski said.

“It’s an outreach for our church. We want to invite people to church, but they’re not required to attend or be a member of any church to come and pick out things they can use.”

Although the church would like to be able to collect items year-round and have a full-time clothes ministry, there is simply no space to store items between giveaways, she said.

“When we decide to hold a clothes closet, we let people know, and they bring us their items that week. We hope everything is gone by noon Saturday.”

With rising prices and families having difficulty making ends meet, members of the congregation are hoping families with young children will check out the items being offered, and suggested that anyone who knows of families who could use clothing let them know about the event.

In past clothes closet events, visitors had to be admitted in small groups to allow enough space for everyone to look around, but with the church’s new fellowship hall, there should be plenty of room for everyone this year, Gdanski said. The entrance to the fellowship hall is on the east side of the church campus, facing onto Alice Drive.

        

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