Community Clothes Closet @ St. John UCC - communityclothescloset

"Shopper" Info:

Next Shopping Date:

Saturday, June 1, 2013
Upcoming dates: July 6 and August 3

First Saturday of Every Month
9 am to 12 noon

ALL ITEMS ARE NO CHARGE
5+ items per family member

The Community Clothes Closet is located in the community room of

St. John United Church of Christ
309 5th Street
Aurora, IL 60505

Street Parking Only
We're on Pace Bus Route #529

CONTACT US! :)

Website: communityclothescloset.shutterfly.com
Email: ccc@uccaurora.com
Church website: uccaurora.com
Phone #: 630-892-1932

Share the Good News!

CCC-Beacon-Linke 2011Dec11.pdf

monthly flyer adjusted.pdf
monthly flyer adjusted.pdf

Last month's stats

CCC Updates:
An incredible May event!! The CCC was able to give away over 1600 items and was visited by 77 families!

We have already received three huge donations to use at the June event. Each month is bigger than the last!!

Check us out on Facebook

CCC on Facebook!

Community Partners!

Community Partners

Jenny (Office Mgr) & Susan Bachmeier (Legal Immigration Specialist)
World Relief

Skip Bacon, Director of Religious Education
Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church

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IMG_9481.JPG 2012-11-30

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Patti from Mutual Ground
Mutual Ground

Joanna from Communities in School
Communities in School

Kim from Breaking Free
Breaking Free

Evelyn from Two Rivers Head Start
Two Rivers Head Start

Cecilia from One Hope United
One Hope United

We grow out of shoes and clothing...before you know it!

Why Clothing?

Clothing is more than a basic need

In this day and age, image is important to fit in socially, to build self-esteem, and to advance a career. It is not just a social development characteristic of teenagers; all ages are expected to meet certain standards.

Imagine showing up for a job interview in jeans and a t-shirt. In the last few years, television has been offering a host of programs about physical appearance: What Not To Wear, How Do I Look?, Fashion Police, and Project Runway, just to name a few. Magazine covers aimed at women or teens target appearance almost exclusively. Standards of acceptable appearance are difficult to reach when you don't have the money to spend on clothing.

Accountability & Metrics

The CCC Co-Ministers will keep count of the number of Clients and the amount of clothing handed out, reporting monthly for the current year and annually for past years through this website. Please see the "About Us" page for details.

We will provide each Donor with a Donation Receipt if requested and keep count of the number of unique individual donors.

Each Sponsor will receive an Appreciation Letter documenting their special contributions to the Community Clothes Closet. Once a year during National Family Week (Thanksgiving Week, Nov 18-24, 2012), names of all Sponsors will be published in the local newspaper.

With a little help from our friends

Donor Info:

DROP OFF & VOLUNTEER HOURS

@ ST. JOHN UCC

309 5th Street, Aurora

(doors on North side of building)

Tuesday 1pm to 4pm

Wednesday 9am-12pm

AND 3pm-6pm

Thursday 5pm to 8pm

We gladly accept new or gently used:

clothing for men, women and children (all sizes)
shoes, boots, purses, costume jewelry
blankets, sheets, towels (bath and hand) and wash cloths
small, clean, working appliances (blenders, toasters, etc)
childrens' books (no encyclopedias) and stuffed animals

We greatly appreciate all donations of New (only):

underwear and socks (all sizes)
school supplies and back-packs

We CANNOT accept anything electronic, including computers, computer monitors, or televisions.

Ongoing Needs:

Children's clothes Toddler to Teen
Men's shirts and pants
Children's shoes
NEW Socks & NEW Underwear

Of course, children are welcome when accompanied by an adult relative. :-)

Linked to Services

Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry (AAIFP)
Hesed House
Redeemer Fellowship St. Charles Clothes Closet
Pace Bus #529 Schedule
List of Other Food Pantries in the Area
Strengthening Families - Illinois
Two Rivers Head Start
Families Helping Families
Salvation Army - Aurora
Wayside Cross Ministries
Kane County Recycling

CCC's Co-Ministers: Dianne and Catherine

Meet Our Co-Mininsters: Catherine & Dianne!

Rev. Catherine Erwin, joins the CCC as of December 2012. Catherine is a graduate of Chicago Theological Seminary, receiving her Masters of Divinity. With a passion for social justice and ecumenism, she looks for the presence of Christ in all people. She enjoys music and loves to read. Catherine is also Associate Pastor at Geneva UCC. She works weekly with youth, ages 7th grade through high school, at Geneva UCC overseeing Christian Education programs, participating in the women's group, and enjoys preaching and singing in the choir.

Catherine's life partner, Bob, is recently retired from a career in technology. However, his hobby as a musician, playing the guitar, and skillfully handling the sound system electronics for worship services in his home church keeps him busy. The household also includes two canine family members!

Dianne Thomas joined the CCC in March 2013. After 6 months of volunteering at the closet with her son, Dan, Dianne was ready to enthusiastically enter into the role of Co-Minister! And she was enthusiastically received! Dianne says:

"I grew up in a small suburb just north of Boston – Melrose, Mass. After high school, I attended college for two years and then entered the insurance industry. Four years later, my employer offered me the exciting chance to relocate to Illinois and manage my own branch, and I have been in Naperville ever since. Within one year of that move I met and married my husband, Barry. This year we will celebrate our 30^th wedding anniversary, and we have two boys. My oldest attends Illinois State University, soon to be graduating this December 2014. My youngest, Dan, is a junior in high school and can be recognized at the CCC by the silly hats he always has on (courtesy of our donors!)

For 23 years, my husband and I worked side by side running a large commercial plumbing company. We sold the company in 2010, and I chose to stop working and start volunteering. It took me some time to find the CCC, but it is the perfect fit for me. You ask why? Well, I can’t really put a phrase to it. It’s a feeling, a smile, a hug, a beautiful donation that touches the heart, a look of joy when a shopper finds the perfect outfit."

Dianne is inspired by these words from Winston Churchill:

“We make a living by what we get.
We make a life by what we give.”

Directions to St. John UCC

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The CCC is currently held in St. John UCC's community room, a space used throughout the month for all other outreach activities.

We are in the process of renovating a dedicated space for the CCC in our lower level, not only providing a nicer "home", but alleviating the community room of all the items which the CCC uses (racks, storage, etc.) and which take up a great deal of space. If you can help us to continue our lower level remodeling, we would be very grateful. Click here to see what is needed.