Kingdom Threads, a clothes (and much more) closet affiliated with First Baptist of Church, is able to better serve local families in need after being blessed by a mission group looking to help the local community.
Lead volunteer Velvet Earles said she was contacted about a youth group connected with Stephenville Christian Reformed Church who had youth volunteers from Michigan and North Dakota looking for local ways to help.
The call was an answer to a concern that had been weighing on her mind.
“The wall [on the front side of the building] was rotten in the bottom,” Earles said. “You could see daylight under it. When it would rain, [donations] would get wet.”
“I could see it busting out,” she added. “Every day, I would say I’m going to get there and the wall will be busted out.”
Those concerns are a thing of the past as volunteers were on site from June 30 to July 2 and erected a new wall, painted it and put up the sign making for a more attractive and secure front.
The volunteers also helped Kingdom Threads by boxing and sorting their main storage building to open up room and make it easier to access.
These efforts are appreciated as Kingdom Thread has been growing, with local families filling as many as 150 bags one week recently. The ministry takes all kind of gently used donation from clothes and shoes to toys and books household appliances. (Although there are plans to offer furniture in the future, they do not take bulky furniture, mattresses and bedding or electronics.)
“It’s going to continue to grow,” said Earles. “My goal is to make it bigger for the community.”
In addition to the weekly open hours, the ministry also has a winter drive which volunteer Frances Guerra is overseeing and compiling items for. These are housed in a separate storage building while a third acts as stopping place for clothing needed locally that can be sent overseas.
These storage buildings and the converted rock house have a lot of activity thanks to generous donations and local residents coming in to fill a need.
Volunteers said the largest donation needs are for shoes, infant to toddler clothes and disposable diapers. Earles said they can always use bags as well. Now that the wall has been addressed, they plan to deal with window replacements in the old building when they can.
She also invites any who would like to volunteer to come help sort or hang clothes. “We do things to make this not a job,” she said. “We just have fun and enjoy each other’s company.”
The volunteers all agreed that seeing the smiling families benefit from their work and the community’s generosity is the best payment they could ever receive.
Kingdom Threads is located across from the first Baptist Church on North Camden. A drop box is located on the right side of the building for donating items when the building is closed.