General Guidelines

Our Mission: In the spirit of God’s love, the mission of the House of Mercy Clothes Closet is to acquire and distribute clean, gently used clothing to people in need in our community.

 

Pantry Activities: The Clothes Closet assists children and their families with “gently-used” clothing items. We do ask that when clothing is donated that it be stain free with no tears or rips. We also ask that the clothing please be freshly washed.

 

Spiritual Counseling: Available if requested.

 

Days of Operation: The Clothes Closet opens Every Monday from 8:00am – 12:00pm.

 

Emergency Assistance: case-by-case basis under special circumstances (recently left shelter, house fire, lost job)

 

The House of Mercy is set up as a part of the outreach ministry of Excellent Covenant Powerhouse Ministries.

 

Expectations for Auxiliary Leader and volunteer workers: The Auxiliary Leader is responsible for the overall operation of the clothes closet and its workers. We ask our volunteers to serve on a Saturdays for three hours as a Store Attendant, or flexible hours working behind the scenes helping with inventory control.

• Site Attendant(s) – Welcomes and greet guest. Complete Clothing Closet Introductory Form. Check picture identification. Assist in selecting clothing from inventory. Collect hangers. Bag clothing items and maintain a visually pleasing store.

• Stock / Inventory Control – Process all incoming donated clothing to Clothing Closet. Sort out usable clothing vs. non-usable clothing. Organize all clothing by sex and size. Place usable inventory into closet or designated totes for future use. Ensures clothing is in a presentable condition. Maintain organized inventory.

Donations

Individuals who are not able to volunteer in the operation of the clothing closet can participate by donating items. A list of items needed for the clothing closet will be available.

• Criteria for donation: Donate “gently” used clothing, shoes, coats/jackets.

• Administrative Note: Due to the Clothes Closet being a volunteer run organization, we are not able to pick clothing up from donors.

 

The current operating procedures and considerations Clothing Closet are as follows:

 

Monday:

• The Clothes Closet is open every Monday from 8:00 am to 12:00pm.

• Guests are usually limited to one (1) or two (2) bags depending on the size of the family.

• The Clothes Closet is organized and cleaned during the above mentioned times and the site is usually manned by two (2) people.

• A list of the names and numbers of the persons visiting each week is recorded in order to track of the amount of people we serve and to keep them updated on any special events/openings via mass text.

 

Considerations:

• Determining who will be eligible to receive clothing and how much clothing a person can receive at a time is determined on a case-by-case basis by the Auxiliary Lead at the time of intake.

• Once a season (winter/spring), the ministry team determines the types of clothing needed and have a church-wide or community-wide clothes drive to stock the closet.

• If needed, additional days/times of workdays to fix up the clothes closet, sort and tag clothing, set up displays, and prepare for opening will be announced to the congregation for additional volunteers.

• A set up a system to keep track of guests coming in and number of items given away, as well as how to manage the inventory and keep the closet well stocked.

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