Clothing Bank 

The Presbyterian Women operates a clothing bank in the basement of the Parish House.  In-season clothing in good condition is collected and distributed as needed to people who visit the Clothing Bank during its scheduled business hours, 9-11 a.m., on Tuesday mornings.  Anyone can drop off in-season clothes in good condition during office hours, Monday through Friday, at the Parish House.  Contact Jan or the church office for information.

The Clothing Bank was started by three members of the Presbyterian Women in the early '70s.  The CB was located at the Church of the Redeemer and, just like today, was open every Tuesday morning.  On one cold morning, the three women arrived to find a pile of coats under one of the tables, and under all of those coats, was a man soundly sleeping.  He must have been as surprised as they were.

In 1978, two others took over, one of whom owned a truck with which they were able to bring clothes stored in the Parish House Tower Room over to Redeemer.  After 17 years of service, they decided it was time to retire.

The PCM minister at the time,Tom Sheffield, approached me, a new member, and said, "There is a mission in this church for you."  I replied, "Tom, I am a mom, and I'm not sure this is for me."  In retrospect, I guess I was wrong.  In 1996, this mission project moved to the basement of the Parish House with special help from AAA.  In record time, these men worked tirelessly to build a room to house the CB.

Well, here we are serving up to 100 people each week from our own Parish House since 1975.  Over the years, we have gathered at least 30 volunteers who are scheduled to help once a month.  At present, we have 13 volunteers who are truly faithful servants, three of whom come every week to distribute clothing.