Ronda A. Gilliam Clothing Bank

Newcomers, visitors, and some long-time APC members may not be aware of all we do in the Ronda Gilliam Clothing Bank, which is located in the basement of the APC building.

Named for a former APC elder, the Ronda Gilliam Clothing Bank continues to be one of our most visible outreach/mission activities in the local community. Many days when the volunteer workers open up, there is already a line of clients that has formed outside the door. Most of our clients live right here in the south Arlington neighborhood. They walk or take the bus to our door. Although most are Hispanic/Latino, we also have many visitors who are immigrants from Southeast Asia, the Mid-east, and Africa . We assist people in situations as varied as: homeless men and women, the working poor, recent immigrants, and retirees trying to make ends meet.

We continue to receive donations of clothing from APC members, our members friends and neighbors, other churches, and other organizations that hold clothing drives. Many of our donors tell us that they found out about us on the APC website when looking for a place to donate clothes. And a number of people and organizations say they donate clothing to us because they like the fact that we give the clothing free of charge. We definitely have a good reputation in the community.

During 2006 the Ronda Gilliam Clothing bank distributed over 33,900 items of clothing, linens, and shoes. A great big THANK YOU goes to our volunteers who worked over 500 hours and served over 1,700 customers.

We noticed a new development in 2006 with several clients who have regularly made a commitment to help us sort and hang clothes when they visit. Since these clients usually speak English as well as their first language, this has helped us better communicate with all of our customers. A number of the volunteers have formed relationships with people in the APC neighborhood who we otherwise would never have known. It has given us a much better understanding of the community.

If you would like to know more about the Ronda Gilliam Clothing Bank, or if you would like to discuss becoming one of our volunteers, please contact our church office at 703-920-5660. We are always looking for additional volunteers and substitutes on Saturday mornings or Wednesday afternoons. We provide no pay, but we have flexible schedules. We require no particular skills, except a desire to help others. The fringe benefit of actually seeing the results of your volunteer work can be great. And it’s a wonderful way to get to know other APC members.

Volunteers Needed

The Clothing Bank is looking for a few good men and women to work with us on Saturday mornings or Wednesday afternoons. Several of our long-term, dedicated volunteers have had to take a break from working with us for awhile or cut back on their schedules because of other responsibilities. We are critically short of volunteers to help us remain open each Saturday morning (9:30 to noon) and Wednesday afternoon (1:00 to 3:00).

There are no particular skills necessary--just an interest in helping other people. Our customers truly appreciate the clothing they obtain. There are many volunteer jobs where you don’t get to see the end result of your work but our volunteers get great satisfaction from helping others--and seeing the immediate benefits (scroll down this page for more!). It’s a wonderful way for us to get to know those who live in the community near our church. And it’s a great way to make better friends with other members of Arlington Presbyterian Church (APC). We have a good time working together. So, if you can spare an occasional Saturday morning or a Wednesday afternoon we would love to have you join the other APCers who volunteer in the Clothing Bank.

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” -- Matthew 25:40

APC has been providing the needy of Arlington with clothing, free of charge, through the Ronda A. Gilliam Clothing Bank since 1970. Our clients are refugees, homeless, new immigrants, low-income families, and halfway house residents. We give thousands of items away every year to hundreds of people. For example, in 2001 our Clothing Bank volunteers gave over 600 hours of their time and provided approximately 16,000 articles of clothing, shoes, and linens that helped serve about 900 people.

The Clothing Bank was renovated in June 2002 and is located in the lower level of APC. We accept clean, good quality, used clothing donations during these hours and can provide a receipt for tax deduction purposes. We are staffed by volunteers to help customers and receive and sort donations.

Need Help?

Customers may make appointments with the church secretary during the regular church office hours to obtain clothing. Call 703-920-5660 for an appointment. We are open for families and individuals to get clothing during the following hours:

-- Saturday mornings 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

-- Wednesday afternoons 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Want to help?

You can help in two ways:

Volunteer your time. A few hours of your time once a month (or less) can make a great deal of difference. High school kids fulfilling their community service requirement are welcome to volunteer their time with us.

Donate clean clothing in good condition (preferably on hangers). We are always in need of young boys’ and girls’ clothes. We give tax receipts.

Please contact us if you’d like to help.

Gilliam Clothing Bank

We serve the homeless. We serve our local Hispanic immigrant neighborhood. We serve the unemployed. We serve our local Middle-East immigrant community. We serve those who have recently completed drug or alcohal rehab. We serve teen-aged mothers and their children. We serve the men who work day labor jobs to feed and house their families. We try to serve all those who really need us.

Many of us mention the Clothing Bank when we talk about APC's mission in the community. But did you know that we are one of the only places in Northern Virginia where people can obtain clothing free of charge. And that we have been doing it a long time. Over 30 years ago APC elder, Ronda Gilliam, challenged this congregation to help school children in Arlington who were staying home from school because they didn't have the clothes or shoes to go to school. We've come a long way since then. We have clothes for children, infants, and adults. We have summer wear and winter wear. We have shoes and boots. We have sheets and towels. We even have a few Halloween costumes. And we have a wonderful looking "retail-like" space for our customers to choose their clothes.

Right now this mission needs a few more volunteers. Several of our long-term past volunteers have had to leave our ranks recently for various reasons. We need a few more hands so we can continue to be there for those who need us most. If you are available for a few hours a month on Wednesday afternoon or Saturday morning, please consider joining our group of dedicated volunteers. You get a great feeling of doing some of God's work in our world. Unlike many volunteer jobs, you actually work directly with the people who need our help. You get to work with and meet other APC members. And we have a good time. All in all, it's a great experience. We'll provide the limited training you need and we can provide a fairly flexible schedule. If you're a newcomer and would like to get more involved, this is a nice way to get to know us better. If you've volunteered before and are available to come back, we'd love to have you. If you need volunteer hours for school community service, we can accommodate you. If you can be a substitute on occasion, we can find a place for you, too. If you are interested, or just want more information, please, contact the Church Office.

The Clothing Bank Makes a Difference...

“A young man came on Sunday afternoon thinking we were open. He came all the way from Vienna, Virginia on a series of buses to get here. He is a recovering alcoholic, recently out of jail and now staying in a sober-house in Vienna. He originally found out about the Clothing Bank. from the Arlington shelter. The outfit he had on when he came in was from us! He now has a job and needed more clothes. He left with a full bag, including ties, socks, belts, pants, shorts--a whole wardrobe!

As he was preparing to leave, he said "This is great, usually it takes me an hour to find anything in these clothes closets, but you are so organized, everything is labeled and it’s right where it’s supposed to be." He was extremely thankful, and I know that our Clothing Bank was a true blessing for him that day.” — Cathy McC. (2003 Church in the World Ministry Team Leader)

Clothing Bank Milestones

(Some facts, some statistics, and some memories)

1970

January: Ronda A. Gilliam, an educator and community activist challenges his fellow members of Arlington Presbyterian Church (APC) to help the community when he announces at a congregational meeting, “We have children who are not coming to school because they don’t have warm clothes. What are we going to do to help these children?”

February: APC members have a basic clothing bank up and running within the month.

December: Mr. Gilliam passes away and the clothing bank is renamed in his honor.

Early 1970s

"The first leaders of the clothing bank were the late Ann Ost and Elizabeth Feindt. I believe in the really early days before permanent press they would not only wash and mend the donations but they set up an ironing board and pressed clothes. Marie Fox worked on mending, and of course Oatrice Gilliam. Anna Van Landingham and then Chloe Davis kept the statistical records. Ann Ost's husband, Roland, I believe made the triangular coat hanger holder which never has run out of coat hangers in 30 years." -- Annette Reilly.

Mid 1970s

"I recall refugee families from Vietnam being brought directly to the clothing bank from the airport with no clothes other than what they wore on the flight over--and babies having nothing but diapers and blankets. Folks would come in after hours and get these families well equipped for their new life in the U.S.A." -- Bob Harris.

The Ronda A. Gilliam Clothing Bank provides clothes to many Vietnamese refugees. These families are in desperate need of even basic items. Most come from refugee camps and have nothing. Decades later, one such Vietnamese family, now fully established returns to APC bringing clothes, donations, and grateful thanks, saying, "You helped us when we first came to this country, so we wanted to return the favor. Thank you so much."

1974

June: The Arlington County Department of Human Resources awards The Ronda Gilliam Clothing Bank a “Certificate of Appreciation” for valuable volunteer service to the people of Arlington.

1977

"When I started working there in 1977 or so, Annie Bowman was in charge. Also volunteering were Mayme Shipp and Eleanor Bell, a true saint who taught me a lot about Christian forbearance. I remember once Eleanor ran after a customer to make sure she got one more bag left on the table. At noontime she discovered she had given away her own lunch." -- Annette Reilly.

Late 1970s

"The first clothing bank renovation was done by Mel Modderman with other volunteers. It included painting, building the shelves and hanging rods in the back room which we just removed, and getting standard-sized boxes. Before that the clothing bank had used a variety of cabinets, metal and wood shelves and old boxes in the back room (and much the same on the stage). There may be still a white metal cabinet in the basement hallway opposite the elevator which once held many of the supplies. We also had a sewing machine for mending. Bill Campbell helped put up the first hanging rods on the stage. They were intended to be easily dismantled in case we had a stage production (never did, though)." -- Annette Reilly.

1979

"We worked on Tuesdays, 9:00 to 2:00 and Saturdays. I led the clothing bank for a few years, maybe 1979-82 or so until I went back to a 9 to 5 job in 1983. I would bring in my baby, Margo, in her child seat or underfoot while I was sorting clothes and helping the customers. The clothing bank had a shower for me before my second daughter, Edith, was born (but not with items from the back room)." -- Annette Reilly.

1980

February: The Ronda A. Gilliam Clothing Bank marks its 10^th anniversary. Its original mission to provide clothing to local school children has expanded. It now provides clothing to the people of Appalachia, migratory workers, flood victims, Montgnard refugees in Vietnam, and Indo-Asian refugees in Arlington.

1980s

"My memory centers on the time we had two stacks of clothes ready to be taken care of, one for the cleaners and one for the clothing bank. The cleaners got the used clothes and the clothing back received my dressy winter coat! As it was the end of the season we did not realize it immediately so someone else wore my coat the next year!" -- Mary Helen Harris.

"I'll add one bit to Mary Helen's note. We mentioned the mysterious disappearance of Mary Helen's coat to others wondering if by any chance they recalled it. After we described it, one clothing bank worker exclaimed "Oh yes! That woman was so happy to get such a nice coat!" -- Bob Harris.

1994

The clothing bank serves 827 customers and gives away 12,767 items

1995

December: Following the Presbyterian Women's Luncheon, APC celebrates the 25^th anniversary of the Ronda A. Gilliam Clothing Bank with a fashion show using members as models. Diana Warmann tallies up our statistics. Over the last 25 years we served 15,900 people and gave away 247,000 items, averaging out to about 15 items per person.

The clothing bank serves 894 customers and gives away 13,983 items.

Mid 1990s

"Charlene Lehman taught me how to do clothing bank stuff. She knew all our customers and they knew her. One older gentleman came in one Saturday morning and left with just a single shirt and pair of pants. He said he just wanted a clean shirt for church. Charlene said to me, “He won't take any more than that. He’s homeless and he figures once he takes off whatever he has on, someone is likely to steal it, so he only takes as much as he can wear.” For years he came in almost every time we worked. He came to know both of us by name. He was sweet and we were friendly and smiling. Sometimes the clothing bank gives out more than just clothes." -- Annette Benbow.

1996

The clothing bank serves approximately 1,100 customers, giving away 18,000 items.

1997

October: Work begins on refurbishing the clothing bank. Led by Lloyd Olden and John M. we expand the clothing bank, add more lighting, and build more places to hang clothes so clients can see more at a glance. Despite the interruption, the clothing bank serves about 865 customers and gives away 15,580 items.

1998

"It was just about noon and we had a busy morning. We were getting ready to close up shop. It was a cold October day, a little rainy out. The bell rang and we both looked at the clock. We opened the door to see a family in shorts and sandals. A volunteer from another Arlington Church brought this family to get clothes. He explained the family had nothing. They had just arrived that morning from a refugee camp in Ethiopia escaping the war raging there. They were cold. They smiled a lot. The younger kids tried to hide behind their mothers’ skirts. And they just kept coming in—I think there ended up being about 12 of them! A least one grandmother and grandfather, their son and his wife and her brother, and a whole bunch of little ones. They were so grateful they said, “Thank you!” a lot! And they left a lot warmer wearing socks and sneakers on their feet and coats and sweaters. We gave them more than 500 items! That was my best day—the day we gave out a total of 846 items to a lot of people who really needed them." -- Annette Benbow.

The clothing bank serves 792 customers and gives away 13,770 items.

1999

"My wife, Consuelo and I noticed that the clothing bank was starting to tilt from sweaters. Frayed "Men's Underwear" boxes had the "Underwear" crossed out and "Sweaters" scrawled over them. Three or four boxes littered the floor in the back. The Clothing Bank was descending in a maelstrom of cable knits and angoras. And the flood continued. So we took action. My wife legislated the Sweater Rule. "You want clothes? You take a sweater." Simple, inflexibly applied, and it often worked, at least at the start. "Here," she would say in Spanish, plucking a 90% virgin wool-5% mohair Swiss Miss, size S from the box, "it's cold outside, and you want this." She would add the blue-gray Swiss Miss to the pile of stuff just counted out, and send the customer on her way. We might say that Consuelo is kind of a Johnny Appleseed of sweaters." -- Tom and Consuelo Hester.

The clothing bank serves 920 customers and gives away 14,446 items.

2000

"Gail Freeman. and I were working at the clothing bank one Saturday when a family with a lot of kids came. Sadly, we were low on anything to help them. With Gail's generosity, I took them to the nearest Goodwill Store to buy a few items. I approached the manager of the Goodwill Store to explain our situation and he told me that he had come to D.C. with his family with just the clothes on his back hoping to find work. One Saturday morning he walked into the Ronda Gilliam Clothing Bank and left dressed to seek employment. Thanks to our help, he said, he eventually landed the Goodwill job and that any time we needed his assistance to call on him." -- Rebecca Aizupitis.

The clothing bank serves 842 customers and gives away 16,177 items.

"I resumed working at the clothing bank after an 18-year vacation. The basic procedures haven't changed over the years, though 30 years ago many of the customers were Vietnamese refugees and now we serve many Hispanic neighbors. Back then pants for women were rather daring and now skirts are unusual. There are always more than enough small women's clothes, neckties and belts, and never enough boys' pants and warm coats." -- Annette Reilly

2001

"Help (and helpers) can be quite imperfect and still be welcome! I show up on Saturdays to work, unable to communicate effectively in my limited Spanish, and my totally-absent Vietnamese, Cambodian, Aramaic or what-have-you... and nobody ever scolds me, belittles me, or refuses to work with me because of the language issues. With a willing heart, an open mind, creative hand signals and a dash of good humor, I can find some way to communicate with everybody who comes in. No special skills are required. If you show up ready to help, you can make a difference... one day, one family, one item at a time. It's what we're here for." -- Steve H.

Clothing bank serves 897 customers and gives away 15,835 items.

2002

June: Cathy McCabe, our 2002 Church in the World Ministry Team Leader organizes a major renovation of the clothing bank. We open up our "back room" to clients who can see all our clothes hanging up instead of in boxes that have to be lugged to the front room. We also install a changing room for clients to try clothes on. Cathy's crowning achievement is that she secures grant funding from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to have closets professionally installed. The Ronda A. Gilliam Clothing Bank is now APC's major outreach program for the community.