My children dread the chore of cleaning out their closets. Maybe you have children or even just remember this annoying task from your childhood. Well, the first cold snap is coming and you can’t find a hoodie or pair of jeans anywhere!
If you are like me, you set aside a Saturday morning and take a deep breath before pulling out all of the shorts and t-shirts your kids have been playing in all summer. In order to make room in the closet, I take items that were rarely selected and pass them on. The items well loved with stains and tears go to the trash; then, I keep the items that are likely to still work next Spring and pack them away in a storage tote. Next, we look in the garage and pull out a storage tote of winter items from last year. We double check all the sizes to make sure they’ll still work for the upcoming season. Then, we hang each item and organize it. We finish by making a list of items we are missing and need to purchase. The whole process takes a few hours.
“Switchover” at PS I Love You Ministries is just like that… except our Resource Center is planning for 300 children of all sizes! So instead of blocking off a Saturday morning, it is necessary to close The Resource Center for 3 weeks. For this process we invite 100 of our closest friends to come over for about 300 hours of fun to help us! We pack away dozens of storage totes of summer clothes; then, unpack more than 100 totes of fall and winter items that we’ve been collecting in our Donation Center since March. Over 15,000 items will be hung, sized, and sorted before reopening The Resource Center for families to shop!
In the weeks to follow, we have “Switchover” Appointments for our foster families. Every family is invited to shop and each child in foster care receives 10 new outfits, as well as socks, shoes, winter coats, pajamas, and toys! Appointments fill up quickly and we watch the children’s faces light up as they enjoy their shopping spree. It makes all the hard work worth it!
Overall, this entire process: the preparation, the transition of the closet, and the following appointments make up a very busy 6 weeks at PS I Love You. It happens every February/March and again in September/October. It is the most fruitful season of ministry as we connect with foster families in such a tangible practical way. Did I mention that it is all 100% FREE for the families!?! That’s the best part of it all, especially when the children ask how much it costs. When we explain to them that it’s all provided by people in the community who love them and most importantly by God, they are amazed. THANK YOU for your continued support of PS I Love You Ministries, as we support children in foster care and the families who serve them!
Yorumlar