Much-needed clothing for the needy may get rolling in 2023, thanks to a trailer turned mobile closet donated by a Carbondale company.
This idea sprung from an observation: Until recently, the floors of St. Francis of Assisi’s Food Kitchen in Scranton were covered with donated clothing. The nonprofit receives about 2,000 donated garments a year and gives clothing to about 400 people per month.
The Ignatian Volunteer Corps of NEPA, a nonprofit volunteer organization led by director Teddy Michel, helps St. Francis sort this surplus of clothing. He thought there should be a better way to organize and distribute the donations.
One day, Michel mused, “If I won the lottery, I would buy you a mobile clothing store.” That comment gave St. Francis’ director, Rob Williams, a huge stroke of inspiration.
“People who need this clothing have to get … to us, so why don’t we bring the clothes closer to them,” Williams said.
After bringing up this idea to the board of St. Francis, the first step was to find a trailer to serve as this mobile clothing store. Officials did extensive research before finding the perfect trailer in Middletown, just south of Harrisburg.
Williams asked where it was made, and the answer surprised him: It was made by ITI Cargo in Carbondale. Williams contacted the company to request a custom design for their cause.
The ability to custom order a trailer will allow them to use it as a clothing store as best as it can.
The 22-foot custom trailer had an estimated retail price of $15,000, but they managed to get the price down to only $7,500. ITI Cargo received approval from its parent company, Novae, to start this project.
ITI Cargo is working on retrofitting the trailer and installing all the specially designed shelving that will hold donated clothing. They hope to be finished with the trailer by mid-January and St. Francis officials anticipate launching the mobile clothing store by February or April.
“What stuck with me was that they can pick out what they want,” said Mari Lucas, general manager of ITI Cargo.
With the trailer itself being worked on, officials are also focusing on their clothing inventory. Even with a surplus of donated clothing, St. Francis officials anticipate the amount of clothes donated will nearly quadruple with the roll out of the free clothing store.
Luckily, they already have a place to store all of this inventory: a 29-foot by 29-foot commercial garage. They just recently had a new floor installed, and the garage has plenty of shelving and a dehumidifier to keep everything in good condition and a new floor was recently installed.
What remains to be seen is how being mobile may affect the demand for clothing.
“I don’t know how hard the inventory is going to get hit every time we send it out,” Williams said. “If it comes back half-empty, we’re going to need to figure out how to restock.”
To prepare for the eventual launch of the free clothing store, St. Francis recently held a clothing drive in Carbondale. Employees of ITI Cargo even chipped in by donating clothing.
“Forty-one employees donated 36 bags of clothing,” said Michele Bannon, Carbondale city clerk. “Isn’t that incredible?”
Williams has big plans for the free clothing store once it is finished. While the inside of the trailer will be used to store and distribute clothing to those in need, they plan on providing hot food to the needy outside of the trailer.
They also plan to make this trailer available to organizations across the valley, and take it to certain towns in the area once a month. They even have plans to pair it with other events and activities they provide at St. Francis.
Williams and other officials point out that none of these services, including the mobile clothing store, could be possible without the hundreds of people who volunteer their time.
They have about 20 weekly volunteers in Carbondale and Olyphant, another 80 weekly at the Scranton soup kitchen, as well as nearly 800 volunteers who give their time less frequently. Then there are all the people who donate clothing to St. Francis to pass on to the people who need it.
“We don’t care who gives the person the coat. We just care that the person gets the coat,” Williams said.
For more information about the project and on ways you can volunteer or donate, you can visit St. Francis of Assisi’s on Facebook or call 570-342-5556.
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