Kevin Jones
Jacksonville Daily Progress
JACKSONVILLE —
Mickey Gear of Jacksonville’s Clothes Closet said she and her ministry of giving free clothing to those in need — especially Jacksonville’s school children — have a lot to be grateful for.
“First of all, I want to extend the biggest thank you possible to the community of Jacksonville for the work they did with all of the back-to-school uniforms,” Gear said. “They supported us in so many ways and for that I am so thankful.”
She said the Clothes Closet distributed about 2,080 complete district-approved school outfits to Jacksonville students.
But even though the Clothes Closet has seen a lot of success in recent history, there is still need for the charity.
“We have several problems with our building still,” Gear said. “Like the roof which has issues, one room has a floor that needs to be replaced, and other basic remodeling is needed.”
She said all monetary donations that come in will be used to make the building as nice as possible for the community.
“The most extraordinary expense that we have right now is a wall that needs to be torn down and that will take the bulk of our money we spend on the building,” she said. “Right now we figure our need to fix everything will cost about $10,000 and at present time were about halfway there.”
Gear said she and the volunteers who run the Clothes Closet are here for the community and she knows that the community will be here for them.
All clothing and monetary donations can be dropped off at the Clothes Closet at 314 S. Main St. in Jacksonville.
Other ways to donate will be the two fundraisers that the Clothes Closet has scheduled.
“On Oct. 2, we will be having a garage sale with details to come later,” Gear said. “On Oct. 9, we are having a fishing tournament on Lake Jacksonville.”
She added a silent auction is also upcoming in November.
Also, school uniforms are collected year round so that growing children can trade them in for well fitting uniforms.
For more information, call the Clothes Closet at 903-586-0204.
