KATY MAGAZINE - Katy, Texas September 7, 2017 By Ashley Lancaster
Christian charity sets up a pop up location at a local chuch to provide new and gently used clothing to families affected by hurricane Harvey.
When hurricane Harvey hit Houston, the leadership at CBF knew that God would be able to use them to help people in Katy and surrounding areas. A partnership was CrossPoint Community Church was quickly established, and the call for volunteers and donations began.
A God-Inspired Dream to Give
Abi Morton, founder and executive director of Clothed by Faith (CBF), says that the idea for the organization was purely God-inspired and came from a desire to give families the items they need, without sacrificing quality. "When people come to shop here, we want to give them that boutique feel - because no one should ever have to feel the indignity of wearing worn, tattered clothes so that they can pay a bill, or feed their family," she says.
Giving the Best in Everything
Families or individuals, also called "Clients" by CBF volunteers, arrive and check-in, giving their name and number of adults and children they are shopping for, and are given a number. When it's their turn to shop, kind, welcoming personal shoppers escort them through the boutique and help them make selections. Throughout the process, volunteers are instructed to use every opportunity to show God's love to the people who pass through. "God doesn't give in half-measures, and so neither do we," says Morton. CrossPoint Partnership
If the family is also in need of clothing, diapers, dog food, etc., they will conclude their shopping at the CBF boutique and give a list of their grocery needs to a member of the CrossPoint Church team - now a major distribution center for food and supplies in the area. The items needed will be sorted and packaged for families to take home - meaning that Harvey victims can leave with almost every basic need met.
When asked how long they will be serving the community, lead pastor Paul Goeke says that CrossPoint Church is in this game of helping those in need for the long haul. "We're getting back to normal with school and church services, but we're moving things around to keep this going for as long as we can," he says.
The entire gymnasium is packed wall-to-wall with food and supplies, while trucks are being unloaded on an almost hourly basis. "It's a very fluid operation, one day we might have more food than we have families to give it to, other days we have lines of people out the door and we're running low on everything in the warehouse. It changes constantly," he says. The best way to keep up with the constant ebb-and-flow is to follow Clothed by Faith and CrossPoint Church on Facebook, and check their most recent posts for the best information.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
IMMEDIATE NEEDS:
CROSSPOINT
Volunteers to put together grocery orders
Breakfast Food Cereal and Oatmeal Granola Bars
Protein Bars
Peanut Butter Jelly
Bread
Pasta and pasta sauce
Boxed sides
mac and cheese
shelf stable milk
Juice (not Gatorade)
Chunky soup
Chili
Snack foods
Canned meat
CLOTHED BY FAITH
Volunteers (age 14 and up) to help replenish shop supplies
Reusable bags for Clients to take home clothes in
Underwear (Girls underwear size 2 & 3) , BRAS (especially in the L - XXL sizes), girls socks, mens underwear (all sizes), women's underwear (all sizes)
Zip Lock Bags (gallon)
Clothed by Faith