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Portage charity needs help County Clothing Center seeking money donations

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June 29, 2009

 

By Mike Sever

Record-Courier staff writer

A charity that relies on volunteers and donations to help those in need still needs money to keep the lights on.

“We are running in the red,” said Candy Pollard, program director. While donations of clothing continue to be strong, donations of money are down. And, she said, more people are coming to the center for the free clothes and household items it offers.

“It’s the economy. People are afraid to let go of the money they have,” she said. And what is coming in isn’t enough to cover the bills.

“We’ve cut everything we possibly can,” Pollard said. Like residents, the center saw its heating bill increase last year.

The Phyllis Zumkehr County Clothing Center has served Portage County’s families since 1996. Started as a Catholic Charities program, it is now part of Family & Community Services, Inc. The center at 3377 S.R. 59, Ravenna serves an average of 3,500 clients a month.

Mark Frisone, executive director of Family & Community Services, said the center is not in danger of closing down.

The center “has become an institution of service and still has strong public support,” he said. He called the drop in financial donations “a sign of the times” and said F&CS donations “are down about 25 percent across the board.”

The center has made progress toward reducing its deficit, he said.

Pollard said the churches that provide volunteers to work at the center took up a special collection for the center, and a special fund-raiser event is being planned for next spring.

The center receives help through the United Way of Portage County, but the level of support has dropped, Pollard said. 

It also receives help though the Portage County Solid Waste Management District because usable clothing donated to the center otherwise could end up in a landfill. 

Last year, 230 tons of clothing and household items were donated to the center and kept out of landfills.

The center is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and two evenings. It is staffed by a corps of more than 400 volunteers and has only one paid staff person. Advisory board members fear that operational hours may have to be cut.

Donation checks should be made to the Phyllis Zumkehr County Clothing Center, 3377 S.R. 59, Ravenna, OH 442166.

 




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