Manito United Methodist To Open Kids Clothing Bank

Manito United Methodist Church, 3220 S. Grand Blvd., is looking for donations to start up a new clothing bank for grade-school children in the area.

The clothing bank, scheduled to be up and running by Sept. 1, will be accessible only by school counselors.

The clothing bank plan came about partly because of a denominationwide push to find ways to ease poverty among children, says Pastor John Shaffer.

“Someone in my church went to the school and interviewed them and found out what their needs were,” says Shaffer.

The school counselors who come across children who do not have adequate clothing will now have a way to do something about it. Not having clothes like everyone else can be awkward for a child, says Shaffer, and new clothes can make a difference.

The need is especially great in historically poor areas, like the lower South Hill and the East and West Central areas.

The clothing bank will not be open to the public and will work primarily with the elementary schools in the area. They are focusing on schools in the South Hill area, says Shaffer, but will extend assistance to any school that requests it.

“It will be unique,” says Shaffer. “We have been blessed with the space.”

Hutton Elementary’s current clothing bank, if it can be called that, is simply a couple of drawers filled with clothes. The clothes are there for students who get their clothes wet on the playground as well as those who need to add to their wardrobe, says counselor Martha Schaefer.

“Sometimes kids won’t admit that they need clothes, but the teachers can tell,” says Schaefer. “I know there is (a need), especially in some of the schools with lower incomes.”

Twenty-five percent of Hutton’s students come from needy families, says Schaefer, and some schools have even higher percentages.

Gail Boyd, counselor at Jefferson Elementary and Franklin Elementary, agrees there is a great need for such a clothing bank and says there are always some students who need clothes.

“That would be a wonderful resource for us,” she said.

For information on making donations to the clothing bank, call the church office at 747-4755.

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