Free clothing and other items to be provided this month in Columbia through annual teen-led effort

Clothing and other items will be available for free to those in need on Saturday, Jan. 16, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and on Sunday, Jan. 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Both distribution days will be held in Columbia at The Barn, 5853 Robert Oliver Place in the Oakland Mills Village Center.

Among the items available are shirts, dresses, pants, shoes, coats, hats, career clothes, socks and much more. There will be a limit on coats and shoes. Individuals coming to the distribution days are asked to bring their own bags.

This event is organized by Columbia Association’s (CA) Youth and Teen Center and its Teen Outreach Committee and is made possible thanks to generous contributions provided by community members. It has a significant impact. The previous year’s clothing drive brought in more than 20,000 items and served more than 1,000 families.

Volunteers are needed to help prepare for the event during the week before, from Jan. 11 through Jan. 15 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., as well as on the distribution days themselves, which immediately precede the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

Volunteer opportunities on the distribution days including greeting guests and assisting them with bags; serving beverages and snacks to customers and other volunteers; restocking the clothing area as needed and keeping it clean; monitoring the number of people helped and items they receive; and working in the area where children will be while their family members look around.

Those interested in volunteering should contact Safire Windley at 410-992-3726 or Safire.Windley@ColumbiaAssociation.org.

About Columbia Association

Columbia Association (CA) is a nonprofit community services corporation that manages Columbia, Maryland, a planned community that is home to approximately 100,000 people and several thousand businesses. Additional information about CA is available at ColumbiaAssociation.org.