HONESDALE – Each week, members of the faith community hold a weekly food and clothing distribution for those in need. It grew out of the Saturday meals they served prior to COVID-19.
The effort recently received a boost from major national retailer Bombas. The sock company donated 500 pairs of socks through its Giving Back Program to the Wayne County System of Care (SOC) that in turn gave them to the Grace Episcopal Church for distribution.
It all started last fall, when County Integrated Services Coordinator Dave Hartung was looking for ways to align the efforts of County Human Services agencies and community providers to meet local needs. He learned of the need for hats, gloves, socks and other items through a community mission group. While other organizations addressed the gloves and hats, Hartung, with the help of Commissioner Jocelyn Cramer, was able to make contact with Bombas for the sock donation.
Clothing is always in high demand among the homeless, and Bombas was founded on the philosophy of donating to those in need. For each pair purchased, the company donates a pair, which they say are specially designed to meet the needs of people who don’t have the luxury of putting on clean clothes every day.
Sue Erb of Grace Episcopal Church said distributions are held three Saturdays a month at Grace Episcopal, once a month at St. John’s Lutheran Church and, when there’s a fifth Saturday, at Central United Methodist Church, all in Honesdale. The Church is currently not accepting donations for the program as it transitions to a new coordinator.
Since its founding, Bombas has donated over 30 million clothing items through more than 3,000 Giving Partners across the country. Learn more about Bombas Giving Back online.
Picturesd from left: Sue Erb of Grace Episcopal Church in Honesdale (left) and Wayne County Integrated Services Coordinator Dave Hartung and Wayne County Housing Unit Administrator Heather Miszler show off some of the 500 pairs of Bombas Socks donated to those in need.