Opportunity House is asking Berks County residents to turn unwanted household items into support for neighbors experiencing homelessness during a donation drive Saturday in Wyomissing.
The nonprofit will host a Fill the Truck collection Saturday outside the Wyomissing Public Library, 9 Reading Blvd., from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in conjunction with the library’s Summer Block Party.
The drive encourages residents to donate gently used clothing, shoes, books, household goods and other reusable items. Organizers say the event also offers a convenient drop-off location for anyone participating in the library’s community yard sale who has unsold items at the end of the day.
“We are pleased to support Opportunity House‘s work and the individuals and families they serve,” Library Director Colleen Stamm said in a statement. “Hosting Fill the Truck at Wyomissing Public Library’s Summer Block Party allows us to help further Opportunity House’s vital mission while giving our patrons a meaningful way to give back.”
Donated items will be distributed first to individuals and families served by Opportunity House’s emergency shelters and housing programs. Remaining items will be sold through the organization’s OppShop thrift store in Muhlenberg Township, with proceeds supporting the nonprofit’s programs.
Opportunity House operates emergency shelters in Berks and Montgomery counties, two early learning centers, community food pantries, supportive housing programs and aftercare services for people transitioning from shelter to permanent housing.
Donations during the past year helped provide clothing for 885 clients, serve 646 people in emergency shelter and support more than 20,800 shelter bed nights, officials said.
Chief Executive Officer Alyssa Bushkie said donated items often become essential resources for people rebuilding their lives.
“Someone may see an old dresser or a bag of clothes,” Bushkie said. “We see a young mother furnishing her next apartment, someone dressing for a job interview, or a person arriving at our shelter with nothing but the clothes they’re wearing. Every donation helps someone begin again.”
Opportunity House also said its donation and resale program has diverted nearly two tons of reusable items from landfills this year.
Additional Fill the Truck collection events are scheduled throughout Berks County later this summer, including Aug. 22 at Berks Fire Water Restorations in Muhlenberg Township, Aug. 28 during Muhlenberg Township’s Back-to-School Movie Night at Jim Dietrich Park, Sept. 12 at Ontelaunee Grange in Leesport, Sept. 13 at Reformation Evangelical Lutheran Church in Exeter Township and Sept. 17 during the Reading Roots Night Market at GoggleWorks Center for the Arts.
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