ATHOL — Nearly 30 volunteers gathered at Starrett Memorial United Methodist Church, 40 Island St. in Athol to load vehicles with over 1,400 bags of clothing and textiles being donated to the Epilepsy Foundation New England. The crew, made up of church parishioners, community members and students earning volunteer credit, lined up side-by-side, creating a “bucket brigade” hauling bags of textiles. Working with enthusiasm, the two 16-foot box trucks were filled to capacity in just over an hour, according to a press release.
This is the third year the church has partnered with the Epilepsy Foundation and their most successful community clothing drive to date. The final weigh in revealed that 15,270 pounds of textiles were collected earning $3,054 for the church and clean closets for everyone who donated.
What makes this event unique is the ability to accept all kinds of household objects, as long as they are some sort of textile. Anything from throw pillows to curtains and shoes to suit coats are allowed, regardless of condition. The Epilepsy Foundation sells everything in useable condition to Savers, a thrift retailer, putting donations to the best possible use. Items that can’t be resold are shredded and recycled into insulation. For organizing the event, SMUMC received 20 cents for every pound of “stuff” donated. All money raised will be used to help fund the church’s Building Revitalization Project.
Stacey Hartford, pastor of SMUMC, expressed her gratitude to everyone who helped make this year’s event an outstanding success, noting that collections were nearly double those of the previous year. Commenting on all the volunteers who helped load the trucks she said, “What a wonderful demonstration of community support. We are so thankful to everyone, many hands truly made light work of a very BIG job!”
She also recognized event coordinators Lettie Hebert and Mary Andrews for their generous giving of time and energy to both the church and the Athol community. The church plans to run another drive in 2023 and encourages anyone interested in participating to hang on to those bags of old clothes and look for their announcement in spring. For information on church activities, visit them on Facebook @StarrettMemorialUMC.