DUNMORE, Pa. — A nonprofit in Lackawanna County that helps families in need encouraged people to give back on a day they usually have off in memory of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Bags of clothing piled up inside St. Joseph's Baby & Children Pantry in Dunmore. Outside, people dropped off donations.
This drive is to help replenish the shelves with new or gently used items that the pantry needs most this time of year.
"Clothing, diapers, wipes, winter jackets, all those things are so important," said Mary Griffin, the outreach coordinator for the baby and children pantry.
Volunteers sorted and folded items as they came in. This event is held specifically on Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a call to community service. Many of these helpers are students.
"We took up the opportunity because I love helping, I think we both do, and we were just like, 'Let's do it,'" said Holy Cross High School student Grazia Cerminaro.
Griffin says they are seeing a growing need, and that's why this winter clothing drive is so important.
"We serve about 300 clients a month, so in order to do that, we need all the donations. We run totally by donations," Griffin explained.
"I think that today is going to be really helpful for the community, especially with everyone coming out and donating the clothes. It's really helpful," said Brooke Pawelski, a Holy Cross High School student.
Griffin says the bins fill quickest with baby clothing, but they're always in need of toddlers' and older kids' clothing.
"The bigger sizes, especially, we run out of so quickly, and we aren't able to give as many clothes as we'd like to because of that reason. So, we really appreciate all the donations that we can in those sizes."
If you missed this event, don't worry. The baby pantry accepts donations year-round.