The Clothing Depot is just one slice of the Innisfil Community Church pie, serving residents since 2009.
The idea to open a free second-hand clothing room inside the church on Innisfil Beach Road came from Pastor Courtney Howard's wife, Beulah.
"I was a recipient of used clothing growing up so it's inspiring for me," said Beulah about her work with the depot.
As a child growing up in Orangeville, Pastor Courtney also wore second-hand clothing.
"We didn't know we were poor as kids," said Pastor Courtney. He remembers his mother having multiple second-hand white shirts and dying them all different colours for him to wear to school.
"I had yellow shirts and pink shirts and purple shirts that were all white shirts dyed and I didn't know I was poor because it felt like I was wearing a brand new shirt," he said.
His mother would also collect second-hand clothing for others and have them shipped out to missionaries.
"So I grew up with that background," he said. "It's great to be on the other side (now) and help out."
For Pastor Courtney and Beulah, running The Clothing Depot is not only fun but necessary as part of their faith in Jesus.
"Our purpose in life is to help other people, to care for other people, and share with them the good news that Jesus brought. For me that's my foundation of service," said Pastor Courtney, who has also been involved in Red Cross Disaster Services for over 50 years as a volunteer.
Before the Clothing Depot, the church would collect used clothing and have it shipped to its missionaries overseas, free of charge. When it started to become too expensive to ship, they decided to make the clothing available locally to those in need.
"We made the decision to make it available to our own local people and that led to the development to what it is now," explained Pastor Courtney.
In its infancy, the depot had a few tables, no racks or shelving. Now, it has transformed into a beautifully organized space, with rows of clothing racks sorted by size and style, and shelves filled with neatly piled clothing, shoes, and accessories.
Prior to the pandemic, The Clothing Depot would open once a month for residents to come by and shop.
"It was chaos," remembers Beulah, noting that some days there would be 60-70 people lined up throughout the church waiting to get inside the clothing room.
Since COVID, the church has set up shopping by appointment only with up to 10 shoppers per half-hour time slot.
Upon arrival, each shopper is given a large bag to fill with as many items as needed. They can take as many bags as they want until their half-hour is up.
Some of the items available for shoppers often still have tags on them, the couple noted.
"I am very particular about what goes out (in the shop)," said Beulah.
Any items received that are not in good condition are re-bagged and sold off to Value Village or Good Will, with the money going back to the church's kids' programs.
The Clothing Depot volunteers come in every Saturday to empty the bins. There are two volunteers who come in daily to help organize the shop.
August is usually busy with back-to-school shopping, but "every shopping night is busy" says Beulah.
There is no screening process to shop and is available to any Innisfil resident in need.
"It's all free," said Beulah.
The Clothing Depot is open by appointment every other Thursday to Innisfil residents only. Call 705-436-1611 to book your spot.
There is a clothing drop-off bin located just outside the depot that is open 24/7 to donate clothing items at 1571 Innisfil Beach Rd.
"We are very blessed to have such strong community support," said Pastor Courtney.
