Members of Friendship Baptist Church near Greenbrier weren’t deterred when their first service project — providing free smoke alarms to residents — didn’t go as well as they hoped.
The Friendship Clothes Closet started in October, and church members said they’ve had a good response to the project, but they want to help more people.
“We’re wanting to do anything we can do to get people the word that need clothes, or shoes or whatever,” said Becky Reynolds, a church member who volunteers to run the Friendship Clothes Closet.
“We had thought about doing just a winter-coat distribution, and several people are doing that,” Reynolds said. “We determined it would be better to do the whole thing.”
Donated clothes for infants, children and adults are given away from 2-5 p.m. the first and third Monday of every month at the church, 170 Cash Road in the Republican community, north of Greenbrier.
“If anyone cannot make that time because of work, if they just call us, we have someone down there who will stay late for whenever they want to come by,” Reynolds said.
“Right now, we’re using our fellowship hall. We’re a small church, and we have a fellowship hall building that’s not connected to our church building. We were outside when we first opened because it was warm enough,” she said. “It was a lot of work getting that outside.”
Dorothy Barnes also volunteers in the clothes closet through the ALOFT committee, which organized the project and mans it. ALOFT stands for A Leap of Faith.
“It’s a lot of work, but we feel like we are helping people and that it’s a need in our community, and the main thing is, we’re trying to show the love of Christ and not trying to get people to our church,” Barnes said. “We’re just trying to help people who are needy.”
The clothes closet is accomplishing that purpose, Barnes said.
“For instance, this past Monday, a young lady came in, and she just got a new job, and she needed clothes for her new job. She found some things to wear,” Barnes said. “We sent a bag of baby clothes to a lady that had a new baby and didn’t have any clothing, hardly, for her.”
Barnes said the church is off the beaten path, so members are trying to spread the word about the ministry.
Reynolds said the Friendship Clothes Closet is the committee’s second attempt at “some kind of service for the community.”
The church’s first service project was giving away smoke alarms for anyone in need, she said.
“A fireman and church members or pastors went to homes and installed [the smoke alarms]. People just didn’t respond to it like we thought they would,” Reynolds said.
Volunteers come to help on the Mondays the clothes closet is open, but customers aren’t asked to give any information about themselves.
“We just greet them with a friendly hello,” Reynolds said, “and maybe one of the ladies will say, ‘If you need any help, we’ll be glad to help you.’”
Reynolds said that for now, no limit has been placed on how much clothing someone can get.
“They take whatever they need,” she said. “They’re very appreciative, and we haven’t had any kind of disturbance or anything; it’s just above board.”
The Rev. John Burleson, pastor of Friendship Baptist Church, said the clothing is given away with no strings attached.
“As difficult as it is not to do so, we don’t initiate any spiritual conversation with those we serve. We don’t want people to think we are getting them here with a promise of free clothes only to blindside them with pressure to attend church,” he said. “Our belief as a church is simple: We are called to love God first, and love our neighbors. When someone comes in to shop, they are treated with respect and grace. We want this to be a positive experience for everyone involved.”
Reynolds said 15 to 20 families come to the closet each Monday it is open.
“We have had one Monday that we had very few, maybe five, and it was right after Christmas,” she said.
Two families who received clothes also brought donations, she said.
Reynolds said church members donate clothes, as well as other churches in Greenbrier and Conway. When the weather gets warmer, she said, Friendship Baptist Church members plan to go to garage sales and buy clothing to give away.
“Sometimes you can buy everything when they’re closing up, so that’s what some of our ladies are anticipating doing,” he said.
Burleson said only clothes in good condition are accepted to be given away.
For more information, contact Reynolds at (501) 581-5701 or Burleson at (501) 581-8580.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.