Bellefonte church gives free clothes away

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (WJAC) — One church in Bellefonte held its regular clothing bank Saturday, where folks could get all kinds of clothes for free.

"They wanted someplace for the local people to come, who didn't have to pay for any clothing," Cathy Torsell, the event's organizer, told 6 News.

She said the clothing bank started with two members of the St. John's United Church of Christ around 2017.

"We started with — I think [one of the members] said — two racks, and probably about 24 pieces of clothing."

Torsell said they get donations from the church, people around Bellefonte, and beyond.

"All the time, it keeps coming in from different places around the community, even State College."

Even Penn State University's College of Agricultural Sciences helped out.

"They brought down nine bags of coats, that they donated. And last week, when we were open, quite a few of the coats already went, and there are more on the racks today."

But the need is great, and so too is what they need.

"Right now, the main thing that we could use — always baby clothes, always kids' clothes. And, we usually have enough girls' clothes, but boys' clothes, I think they go through them more quickly."

It goes without saying that many who come here for clothing have fallen on hard times. And it's their stories, like one family who lost everything in a house fire, that keeps Torsell and others coming back to help.

"They had nothing," Torsell said.

"They were able to gather some children's clothes, for the kids, but the woman came in with her two children. And she looked around, and she was finally able to find something for herself. And she did find something for the children as well."

"It does all kinds of good things for the community. It's really a wonderful resource."

They host this clothing bank the last two Saturdays of each month, assuming there are no holidays. More details can be found on St. John's United Church of Christ's Facebook page.

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