St. Joseph’s Center is using Martin Luther King Jr. Day to collect new and gently used winter clothing for children, embracing the late civil rights leader’s commitment to service.
Monday’s winter children’s clothing drive supporting the center’s Baby and Children’s Pantry, 320 S. Blakely St., Dunmore, runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Donors can drop off materials there during that window.
“The Baby and Children’s Pantry helps families all year long, but we certainly feel inspired by the message of Martin Luther King to create a caring community,” said Sister Maryalice Jacquinot, I.H.M., St. Joseph’s Center president and CEO. “And people who have the ability to help others are always looking for those opportunities, and so we’ve really connected the inspiration of Martin Luther King with a direct impact in one’s local community. By donating to the pantry you’re helping local families, and I think everyone’s happy for that opportunity to do something good for others.”
The pantry is in need of new or gently used winter clothes for both girls and boys in sizes newborn through 10/12, as well as diapers in sizes 5 and 6 and pull-ups in sizes 2T-3T, 3T-4T and 4T-5T, per a flyer for the drive St. Joseph’s Center shared earlier this month on social media. Jacquinot said Friday they’re especially looking for larger sizes of children’s winter clothing, “so really from that 4T-5T up to size 10/12.”
“At that age children are wearing out their clothes within a season, or outgrowing their clothes, and so the need to replenish one’s child’s wardrobe throughout winter is really critical,” she said. “So it’s that, and then also the newborn things — and for newborns of course we do like to give new things — so we would accept things that can go in a diaper bag, and then the diapers and wipes are always needed.”
Those and other items are provided free to families in need who make appointments with the pantry.
“It’s been a wonderful service over many years, particularly the last 15 years that we’ve been at that location (at) 320 South Blakely Street,” Jacquinot said. “We operate with the support of probably between 45 and 60 volunteers throughout the year, but also a very generous community makes that possible.”
She estimated more than 3,000 families benefit from the pantry each year.
“The cold of the winter is just a great time to use concern for another person, another family, to kind of make you feel warmer,” Jacquinot. “It’s just a great feeling.”