Clothing Center Set For Needy Persons

Clothing Center Set For Needy Persons

A facility which will for the first time centralize the distribution of clothing to needy families in Washtenaw County is being planned for the County Service Center.

The new operation will take over the functions of several church organizations which have sponsored clothing service for many years. Volunteers from the churches will man the new center.

The facility will be located in the carpentry shop behind the former seminary. It has been named “House by the Side of the Road” from a poem by William Wadsworth Longfellow. It will include fitting and sewing areas and facilities for laundrying the clothes.

Supr. David R. Byrd of Ann Arbor, who has worked with the organizations in setting up the center, says besides good used clothing, the new center also hopes to collect money to buy new shoes and underwear.

The center will be operated daily by four volunteer workers from the church organizations, and several social workers also have volunteered time to work with the needy clients. Several independent contractors and the local carpenter’s union also have indicated an interest in helping remodel the facility at no cost.

Transportation to the center will also be provided by volunteers from the churches, and the Sheriff’s Department has offered to take families with no other available means. Supr. Byrd said it is hoped the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority will agree to make stops there in the future.

Byrd, a registered architect, is redesigning the facility and a meeting has been scheduled for next Saturday with the church organizations for presentations of his plans.