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Single moms must be alone no more
Pastoral Pondering: Apostle Paul lived on both sides of the
world's fence
| Warm
blankets, soft towels and crisp sheets for the needy |
Linen closet at St. Peter Catholic Church provides items some folks in the
community often do without |
By Schellene Clendenin, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Schellene at sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
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As the evenings grow cold and damp the idea of
crawling beneath the covers and snuggling down into crisp sheets or wrapping up in a warm,
soft towel after a bath can be a comforting one.
But when a family is struggling to pay rent or buy groceries, new linens are
often not on the top of the list of must haves.
But, a linen closet at St. Peter Catholic Church is providing new and used
linens for families who need them.
Once a week Amy Caruso, a parishioner at St. Peters who has volunteered on
the effort for two months, takes in requests for linens, then bundles them up so they can
be delivered to families.
Organizers rarely seek specific items they need, “stuff just magically
appears,” she said.
Caruso said no money is budgeted to purchase linens, which come in through
donations by community members, parishioners and now overstocked and flawed items from an
outlet store in Lincoln City.
Once a month Mary Ann Hanifan, another parishioner and volunteer at the
church, drives her van to the coast and fills it with donated pillows and linens. Some of
the items she secures were returns, some are flawed and need mending or the colors are
slightly off.
Access to the donations was a fluke.
“The beauty was that we were totally out of towels (when it
happened),” Caruso said. A parishioner was shopping at Linens and Things and asked if
the store had anything to donate. They did. A bundle of towels that had been purchased and
washed only to be returned, was made available to the parishioner for $1.
Volunteers then asked some of the outlet stores in Lincoln City the same
question. A store stepped forward and provided a variety of linens at no cost.
“Once a month (Hanifan) brings back random things,” Caruso said.
“We have 50 zipper cases for pillows. We just make repairs and off they go. Sometimes
we get requests, like once for 10 pillows, and we have none in the pantry. That time Mary
came back with oodles of pillows. You’d be amazed how often we can provide (what
people need).”
Right now items are stored away from the church in a storage room that
provides all the space the group needs.
“It’s not all that big, but it’s adequate,” Caruso said.
“The storage space holds pillows, sheets, blankets, comforters, towels, kitchen
towels, washcloths.” And although there aren’t that many requests for them,
Caruso said a small selection of drapes are kept on hand, as well.
“We’re not always able to provide what’s needed, but 99
percent of the time it’s worked out,” she said, adding that while there’s
always a need for twin and queen bedsheets and blankets, there are usually plenty of
double bed sheets on hand. Linens and pillows should be in good to nearly new condition
when donated.
Anyone who needs new linens should go through Love INC (In the Name of
Christ), which is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at 118 First St. For
more information contact Love INC at 503-537-3999 or by e-mail at
loveincnewberg@yahoo.com. |
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From Jan. 1,
2005, Newberg Graphic
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