Program opens clothing boutique for kids

Jon Hunter, program coordinator of One Church One Child, sifts through items. The program is under the county social services that provides clothing and other needed essentials to children who receive services through the agency. Main Street United Methodist Church donated rooms to house a clothing boutique for the program. Photo by Shavonne Potts, Salisbury Post

Main Street United Methodist Church donated these rooms to house a clothing boutique for the One Church One Child program, which is a DSS outreach program for children who receive services from the agency. Photo by Shavonne Potts, Salisbury Post

By Shavonne Potts

spotts@salisburypost.com

The One Church One Child program will soon open a clothing boutique for children served by the Rowan County Department of Social Services. The boutique will be located at the back of Main Street United Methodist Church.

The program is an outreach ministry/mission between Social Services and local churches that identifies and supports families in congregations who are interested in becoming foster and/or adoptive parents. The program also helps meet the needs of children served by Social Services, whether in foster care, child protective services, adoption services or children in social services’ custody who have open and active cases.

There are 43 churches that participate in the program. These churches sponsor families receiving assistance by providing clothing, toys, school supplies, as well as raise money for emergency funds that could include dental needs, glasses, tutoring or summer camps. The churches also donate gifts and host parties for Christmas and birthdays. The program recently distributed school supplies.

The unofficial clothing boutique began with Milford Hills Methodist, which holds a clothing consignment sale two times a year and donates the leftover clothes to the program, explained coordinator Jon Hunter.

“We always get two truck loads of stuff,” he said.

The program had been collecting clothing and other items and storing them in the DSS office building at East Innes Street and at the Crawford building at North Main Street.

The boutique was definitely a collective effort from a group of churches.

Main Street United Methodist Church offered a space it hadn’t used in quite some time.

The space used to be classrooms, but sat empty, said the Rev. Annalee Allen, pastor of Main Street United Methodist.

Allen is also pastor of Park Avenue United Methodist and Coburn Memorial, which are part the Downtown Salisbury Cooperative Parish, along with Main Street United Methodist.

“We’re organized to be in ministry purposely to have a larger reach to the community,” she said.

Volunteers at Bethel United Methodist Church sorted the clothes and other items. Volunteers at Milford Hills Methodist retiled the upstairs and two men, Ed James and Dennis Hinz, donated their time to put in new flooring and paint, Hunter said.

“The floor work is almost complete,” he said.

Another volunteer, Gary Emerson, helped to remove the old floor. His nephew even worked some while on military leave from Iraq. Volunteer Jack Kepley of Coburn built the clothing racks. In the past when someone needed clothes they sifted through labeled bins.

Coburn Memorial provided money and materials. The work has been going on since April, Hunter said.

The Salisbury District of United Methodist Churches provided a grant for the electric and renovation costs.

He said it’s not just Methodist churches that are helping but other denominations as well that have donated time and materials.

The boutique doesn’t have an official name at this time. It will be open a couple of days per week.

“We are in the starting process,” Hunter said.

Members of the advisory board will decide on a name, opening date and other details. The goal is sometime in the next month or so.

There are 22 members who sit on the advisory board, which consists of social workers and managers, pastors and community representatives. The members serve two terms. The board decides policies, screens requests from social workers and recruit new member churches.

“My belief as a pastor is if we are grouped to serve God then we are to serve people,” Allen said.

She said serving comes down to the simplest of needs. Right now that need is to move the clothes from the bins and place them on racks.

“We are just very appreciative of the Main Street church for volunteering to assist us with this clothing ministry. We look forward to the opening and send thanks to the volunteers and Mr. Hunter in their concentrated effort in moving this forward,” said Tom Brewer, program administrator for children’s services.

The program has helped 691 children since the program began in January 2007.

For more information about the One Church One Child program, contact www.rowancountync.gov/ rococ or Jon Hunter at 704-216-7914.