The First Baptist Church of Westwood (FBC) has announced that it has recently teamed up with St. Pauly Textile, Inc. to collect used clothing. This company works with non-profit organizations to set up used clothing drop-off sheds designed to give community members a clean, attractive, and well-monitored place to donate gently used textile items that are then distributed to people in need, both here in the U.S. and worldwide. FBC’s shed is easily accessible at the far end of the parking lot in front of the church, located at 808 High Street, Westwood.
FBC receives funding for clothing collected, and additionally has the option to use any of this clothing to serve local community needs. The Rev. Dr. Stephanie Salinas, FBC’s pastor, spoke about how the church is focused on helping the community and welcoming people into their family. “We hope that having the shed here on our property will serve our community by giving people a safe and convenient place to deposit used clothing, allow us to reach out to those in need, both nearby and far away, and help educate our community about ongoing needs around us.”
St. Pauly Textile, Inc., a family-run company, was founded 21 years ago in Rochester, NY and is an A+ rated member of the Better Business Bureau. With hundreds of drop-off sheds throughout New York, northern Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as over 85 locations in Washington and Oregon, the company collects over 90,000 pounds of clothing every day. It estimates that this clothing ends up in 44 different countries (including the United States) yearly. In 2016, the company was able to help keep over 16.5 million articles of clothing out of landfills.
Accepted items include clothing, shoes, sneakers, belts, purses, blankets, sheets, drapes, linens, pillowcases and stuffed animals. Donors are asked to place items in a plastic bag to protect against dirt and the elements. There is a small box on the shed that contains receipts for tax purposes.
