Behind a building on East Washington Street in Elizabethtown, volunteers are providing essentials for living to people who need them while aiming to preserve the dignity of the recipients. The Clothing Barn, located at 61 E. Washington St., is an outreach of United Churches Elizabethtown Area (UCEA). It provides clothing and accessories for people who are referred through ECHOS, The Community Cupboard of Elizabethtown, local churches or the Elizabethtown Area School District.

"We are trying to meet the needs of the most underprivileged, of the people who need this the most," said Tricia Morris, Clothing Barn coordinator. "We are providing a service for the community, and we really need volunteers."

Volunteers are especially needed for Wednesdays, which the Clothing Barn added to its operating schedule earlier this year. The hours of the Clothing Barn are 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays and Thursdays and 9 a.m. to noon on the fourth Saturday of the month.

The Clothing Barn is stocked with clothes for infants through adults, with a variety of accessories, including shoes, belts, blankets and ties.

"Everything we have is donated by the community," Morris said. "People are welcome to drop off items as donations when we are open."

Morris, who took over as coordinator in the beginning of May, said she's looking into expanding the Clothing Barn hours to better meet the needs of the community.

"We changed our hours to coordinate with the food bank, so we are open when the food bank is open," she said. "I hope to add an evening in the future to make it easier for people who are limited by their jobs or transportation access during the day."

The Clothing Barn is an outgrowth of a previous UCEA program that operated at the Elizabethtown Area Senior Center, said Dave Fritchman, UCEA volunteer coordinator.

"One Saturday a month, members of the church who signed up for that month would arrange clothing collected from their church members on tables for people to access free of charge," he explained. "This model eventually was discontinued due to concerns that the clothing was not getting to those for whom it was intended." Next, UCEA provided funds for clients to access clothing at local thrift shops, before the ministry transitioned to using a garage owned by an area resident, Doug Lamb, for the purpose of providing free clothing to clients referred by local nonprofits.

"So clients would have easier access, it was determined that this clothing ministry should relocate to Community Place on Washington, which opened to UCEA programs, Elizabethtown Area Communities That Care (EACTC) and ECHOS in October 2018," Fritchman explained. "A garage on campus was rebuilt, and the Clothing Barn opened in that space in July 2019."

Morris noted that Clothing Barn volunteers need to be age 18 or older, and she encouraged anyone with a desire to make a difference in the community to consider volunteering.

Interested volunteers may contact Fritchman at cpowvolunteers@gmail.com or access a volunteer application at https://communityplaceetown.org.

To sign up for services provided by the Clothing Barn, the Community Cupboard, Meals on Wheels and EACTC, call 717-689-3484.