CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Approximately 600 people were provided with free clothing and other home items during a clothing swap, Oct. 14, at the Four Chaplains Memorial Chapel. The event took place from 1-4 p.m. and featured thousands of items, organized by type, gender and size.
“We are blessing the community and having people come in and get free items for themselves and their families, all because Jesus loves them,” said Lacy Richardson, who organized the event.
Richardson, who serves as the children's coordinator for the Agape services at the chapel, began the bi-annual event four years ago. She said one of the driving factors for having the clothing swap was hearing how many in the community needed clothing and baby/maternity items.
“We wanted to figure out how to meet those needs,” said Richardson. “We knew we couldn’t open something year-round because storage is an issue on Humphreys, but something that only needs a few months was doable.”
In the 10 weeks preceding the clothing swap, donors were able to drop off items at the chapel. Items included clothing, shoes, accessories, and even toys and baby items. Volunteers assisted in sorting throughout the donation process. The week of the clothing swap, more than 30 hours were spent in preparing for the event. This year between 50-60 volunteers assisted in setting up for the event which Richardson said was more than previous clothing swaps, and allowed them to finish setting up hours earlier than normal.
“There’s always a lot,” said Richardson. “Sometimes we have more jackets than normal, or sometimes more shoes, but we always have a lot of everything.”
Items not taken home are donated to various ministries to include Morning Calm Ministries, Baby Box, as well as to refugee camps, women’s shelters, homeless shelters and schools.
The clothing swap takes place each fall and spring and Richardson said she hopes those attending pay it forward.
“I hope people take away from this the importance of blessing each other, showing each other kindness, being friendly, and helping one another,” said Richardson.
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