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Annual clothing giveaway helps hundreds of county residents in need

By Toni Milbourne - For the Chronicle | Jan 21, 2022

Clothing in all shapes and sizes was available at no cost to those in need, during the annual clothing giveaway at St. James Catholic Church. Toni Milbourne

CHARLES TOWN — St. James Catholic Church once again hosted their annual Saint Martin of Tours Clothing Giveaway this past Saturday.

An outreach event for the local church, the giveaway was open to anyone who wanted to come peruse the clothing and take it home.

Rachel Bishop, a leader with the church’s American Heritage Girls troop, said her troop has helped with the event for many years, adding that it is the troop’s largest service project each year.

Held each year after Christmas, the process of the event begins with donations made to the church that are then sorted, cleaned if necessary and made ready for the public to take home.

According to Bishop, Saturday was the busiest day she has seen.

“Usually our total for a day is about 200 people,” Bishop said. But, at mid-morning, less than two hours after the doors opened, 240 individuals had come to browse through the giveaway items.

According to AHG troop member Ashlyn Wheaton, it takes many volunteers to organize the items, sorting them by size throughout the church’s social hall, so that attendees can more easily find what they need.

“It takes a lot of time and dedication, but it’s so worth it,” Wheaton said, adding that especially for a teenager like her, it can be challenging to identify who many need some help. “This event always gives me great joy just knowing we’re helping someone.”

The clothing giveaway is a start-to-finish project for the American Heritage Girls, who focus on serving the community. The members help with the donations as they come in, assist with item sorting and folding and remain through the end of the event, to help with clean-up.

The remainder of the items that are not distributed to those in need in Jefferson County are packed and shipped elsewhere in West Virginia as part of Catholic Charities to assist those in other West Virginia towns who may make use of the clothing.

“St. James tries to do so much for the community,” Bishop said. “They host the homeless as part of the winter rotation and they delivered over 300 Christmas dinners this season.”

For more information on the church’s outreach activities, visit www.stjameswv.org.