HOW TO HELP
For more information, visit ReThreads' Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rethreadsclothing or call 513-549-5390
Hundreds of Fairfield families in need now have a chance to sleep a little warmer at night thanks to a local clothing pantry, Fairfield Church of the Nazarene, and the city school district.
The Fairfield City School District collected about 3,000 pairs of pajamas this month and donated them Friday to ReThreads, a clothing pantry that supports a few hundred families in the Fairfield area. The district’s Minority Recruitment and Retention Committee was looking to increase its visibility within the community and decided to adopt ReThreads, said Gina Gentry-Fletcher, spokeswoman for the city school district.
“And one of the things we thought we would do is to collect pajamas,” she said. “Some of us had volunteered here, helping to sort the clothing, and we noticed there weren’t many very pajamas that were available for kids, adults.”
That’s when the district decided to help the clothing pantry, which occupies donated space at the Fairfield Church of the Nazarene on Nilles Road near Ohio 4.
And in the first year of the pajama drive, affectionately named Jammies in January, a lot of buzz and excitement was generated by the students, district employees, community members and supporters of the clothing pantry.
The student section at Friday’s home Fairfield basketball game, where the Indians are hosting Princeton, dressed in pajamas, and a “token box” of some of the donated pajamas was presented to ReThreads board members.
ReThreads started about five years ago when several community organizations, churches and the school district when it was realized the city doesn’t have a clothing pantry. Those in need can shop for free at the pantry inside the church at 1425 Nilles Road.
After the church donated space, group members started talking to different organizations, churches and the school buildings about ReThreads and the need for donations.
“Things started pouring in,” said Rosina Philpot, school community liaison to Fairfield with the Butler County Success program. She is also a board member of ReThreads. “We had our first open house, it was a back to school open house (in August 2008) and we’ve been doing open houses every couple months ever since then.”
They have between four to five open houses a year and between 300 to 400 individuals attend, and a lot of them are the same people — though they do see some new faces, she said.
Fairfield North Elementary Principal Denise Hayes, a member of the district’s MRRC, said it’s exciting to get pajamas to those who need it, “especially with this winter being so cold.”
“Our community is one that really reaches out and wraps around each other,” she said. “I just think we are a community that really takes care of one another and we reach out to make sure everyone is taken care of.”
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