Saturday morning at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Shawville, the tables were overflowing with donated clothing, accessories and shoes available to be claimed by community members in need, free of charge.
Reverend Susan Lewis said giving away clothes through the annual pop-up shop event allows people to browse and make their own selections based on what they need.
“It’s important that people have choice and that there’s dignity in the shopping experience,” she said.
“I don’t think anyone left empty-handed. A lot of people found good new clothing that will help them through the winter.”
The pop-up shop is organized by the Anglican Young Women’s Association (AYWA), made up of volunteers from all over the parish which stretches from Quyon to Danford Lake.
“I think donations have been growing every year and we are very grateful for them,” Lewis said. “The community has supported this project from day one.”
Judy Stephens, one of the volunteers at the event, said that she thinks maybe people are rethinking what they can do with clothes they aren’t using anymore.
“Maybe more people are realizing they can bring it and help somebody else,” Stephens said. “I think as a society, we’re getting a lot better at passing our stuff on.”
Lewis said that the need seems to be increasing in the region.
“Things have been getting harder and harder for folks. The cost of living has skyrocketed.”
Because of this, she tries to keep the donations in the community.
“I try to keep it in the Pontiac as much as possible,” Lewis said. “The socio-economic conditions in some places in the Pontiac are quite dire. I think our donors would appreciate us giving back in our community.”
After the event, the AYWA packed up the leftover items. Twenty bags of clothing will go to Bouffe Pontiac and 20 bags to a thrift shop in Danford Lake. Lewis is still looking for a place to donate the rest of it. She said they usually count some of the items to get an idea of how much was donated but this time, there were some many things, they couldn’t even count.
“It warms my heart,” Lewis said.
