A busy first year at Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge Community Clothing Bank has this week been celebrated by the volunteers who run the service.
Co-founders Emily Beaven and Kim Chatwin say the clothing bank has proven popular since its launch in October 2023 at Methodist Church in Burnham’s College Street.
The clothing bank offers free clothing items for all local people and is open to the public for donations and collections every Wednesday between 10am and 2pm, with no benefits or vouchers required.
The service outgrew its launch location within the church’s Waffle Hub community cafe and moved to a larger area in the foyer before expanding again into the main church hall which provides extra space for its clothing.
Kim says: “It has been a very busy year for us and and we thank everyone who has supported us with clothing donations and used the service.”
“We are helping around 100 people a week and have received thousands of donated items during the year. We’ve been blown away by the kind support we have been given.”
“Kim, myself and the whole team cannot thank everyone enough who has supported us so far. We are humbled by your generosity in donating.”
She added a big thank you to the team of volunteers who help to run the service each week. The team comprises of Kim Chatwin and Emily Beaven, plus Mandy, Liz, Sandra, Diane, Amy and Penelope.
Kim adds: “Having the community clothing bank open to absolutely everyone takes away the stigmatisation of seeking help when needed.”
“The community clothing is also available if anyone fancies a clothes swap too. A lot of our donors bring in a bag of clothing for donation and choose something ‘new to them’ for themselves.”
“We have had so many positive comments regarding the availability to everyone.”
She thanked local building firm DB Improvements as a sponsor of the clothing bank.
