Clothes and Loaves
When two women from Destiny Christian Center first envisioned a resource for their Centralia community, they had no idea how far the agency would come. Seeing a need in Lewis County, Clothes and Loaves was created and has been in action for almost 10 years. This entirely volunteer-run program powers a food bank, meal program, clothing bank, life skill classes and numerous other human services. Judi Howard, Director of Clothes and Loaves says, “People know they can trust us, and seeing the people going away happy and getting their needs met is the most important part of our job. People are so appreciative of what we do.”
The success of the agency wouldn’t be possible without phenomenal support and commitment from people in the community, and the outstanding work of the volunteers has helped to shape an incredible reputation for the organization. Jerry, a regular volunteer, cannot imagine what he would do if he wasn’t working at Clothes and Loaves, and says it is one of his favorite parts of the day. “We have amazing volunteers,” Howard says.
Like many communities around Washington, Clothes and Loaves has seen a large jump in the amount of working poor who now utilize its services. Howard wants the public to understand that their facility is not just for the homeless. The food bank is open once a month for anyone in need and Monday lunches are available each week for the underserved in Centralia. A recent development is the expansion of their current facility into the space next door, which will allow Clothes and Loaves to provide an even wider array of services. This space will allow them to develop their new Dress For Success program, which provides professional clothing to women re-entering the workforce.