KATY MAGAZINE I October, 2017
Katrina Katsarelis
When Hurricane Harvey hit Katy with such massive destruction, a local organization, Clothed by Faith, immediately leaped into action.
The organization had already been providing clothes to the needy, but when thousands of families were flooded out of their homes, the group went into overdrive. Clothed by Faith's core team is made up of founder Abi Morton, plus Audrey Hosie, and Susanne Hewson. About about 12 other women and men that have worked around the clock clothing needy families from the moment the flooding began. Their core team included Rona Lee Lynn, Martin Lucia McDaniel, Julie Pickett, Rebecca Earnshaw, Vanessa Heinz, Carolyn Works, Linda Swanson, Jennifer Abboud, Samantha Johnson, Darcie Robinson, Kay Scott, Aida Pita, Yiasmere Desphy and Lynette Guinn.
More than 7000 served in two weeks
With the help of Crosspoint Church, they opened a free pop-up shop in the same area as Crosspoint's Evacuee Distribution Center, and in two weeks gave away clothes to 7000 people affected by Harvey. "We have helped people from all demographics and from all over the area," says Clothed by Faith founder Abi Morton.
Countless volunteers
The group received an incredible amount of help as droves of Katy volunteers showed up to offer assistance. "Between 120-220 volunteers came by daily to help and in 14 days, they put in 4440 volunteer hours," says Morton. They shared their needs to various organizations and on community social media pages and volunteers and donors went into action. Some of our volunteers were flood victims themselves." She shares the example of a young man named Will, a high school student who was evacuated from his home, yet volunteered for several days that first week to help others. They also had two evacuees from Miami University come down from Austin on a day trip who decided to spend the day volunteering instead.
An outpouring of love and hope
"God has worked miracles to pull together this huge operation," says Morton. But the real work is still to come. Our client base has grown significantly and will continue to grow as we continue to respond to the crisis for many months to come.
A grateful heart
Morton says her group is humbled not only by those they are helping, but also by the donors providing items for them to give. "I’ve never seen such a selfless demonstration of true charity and service to the community," says Morton. The group received an overwhelming amount of donations from the all over Katy and even across the U.S. They filled three large warehouses with the donations and have rapidly worked their way through them fulfilling needs. Morton says she is forever touched by the outpouring of love and credits their success with generous partners and donors who immediately reached out to help.
Volunteers still needed
Although they recently shut down operations at Crosspoint, they are still very much responding and serving people affected by Harvey from their location at 802 Dominion Drive, Suite 100, Katy (off Kingsland, between Fry and Westgreen). MAP IT
"We are particularly helping partner organizations like United Way, Career and Recovery, Family Services, Katy ISD and other school districts, Houston Area Urban League and other agencies who have many affected clients." says Susanne Hewson, General Manager. "We are also serving individuals who come to us through our on-line system asking for help."
For more information, visit their website or call 281-676-8837
Clothed by Faith wishes to thank the following benefactors and donors
Kingsland Baptist Church
Ballard Foundation
HealthyGourmet.com
Crosspoint Church
Grace Care Centers
Bethel Bible church
Holy Covenant Church
Ellie Roque of Ellie Roque Connection
Congressman John Culberson
Epiphany ladies cooking group
Everyone who bought lunches, snacks to the church for volunteers
Jason Demmi
Firethorne HOA & Firethorne Residents
Mums to the rescue group
CrossFit 1420
Half price boxes
Academy Bunker Hill - Joanna, Manager
Academy Grand Parkway – Matt Manager
Academy 1093 – Mr. Read - Manager
Ian’s Boots
The Joy Of Sox brought via Ian’s Boots
Paige Denim
Justin Boots Co.
Results Personal Training
Underwear Fairies
Trader Joes
Chick-Fil-A (Owner Rusty Wylie)
W for Worth
The Legging Army
Jim Sherwood Evergreen Clothing Co, in Colorado
Trish for Clothing drive in Louisville
Brittany Clothing drive in New York
Elizabeth & Josh Webb
Mason Creek Business Park for donating warehouse space, University of Houston - Basketball Coach Kelvin Sampson & daughter Lauren Sampson
Hunter Yurachek - director of Athletics, Basketball players & Staff, Football Players
U of H Cougar Dolls
New York Life
The Sock Orphanage
LulaRoe Consultants - Audrey and Barbara Kerr
Mystique Lingerie
Southern Diva’s
Springfree trampoline
Boosterthon for volunteers
Katy ISD for donating service days and volunteers from Pattison Stockdick, Kilpatrick, Jenks, Tompkins, Winborn, Memorial Parkway, and Katy High.
San Antonio Police Force's Underwear Donation