Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 17, 1992 TAG: 9203170170
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KAREN BROWN
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
The man is actually a painted cutout, and Garments and Garnishes is, to many people's surprise, a clothing and food bank.
Garments and Garnishes was created three years ago when members of the Human Service Organization, a club at New River Community College, were trying to think of a project. Although the club usually helped people in the community, a few members began to reflect on their own economic problems, wondering, "Wouldn't it be nice if our project could help each other?"
David Turman, a club member at the time, liked the idea and volunteered to undertake the project as an internship, one of the two required by his program of study. "At first I was the only intern, so I spent quite a bit of time with it," he said.
Turman said the early results were "kind of primitive," but the project quickly expanded.
Jan Martin, head of community and social services programs at the college, said the original idea was just students helping students, but "it's grown from there."
The project, which still serves college students primarily, is unlike typical clothing and food banks. The shop's name and the brightly colored, often humorous posters advertising it help students feel less self-conscious about seeking the service's help.
"We wanted something spiffy, something you wouldn't associate with it being just another handout," Turman said.
The service also offers variety. There is an impressive selection of neatly sorted clothing for children and adults, and the collection includes shoes, belts, handbags and one large straw sombrero.
The food closet isn't as fortunate. "We're overwhelmed by clothing and underwhelmed by food," said Jeff Taylor, one of this semester's interns.
One day in late January, for instance, the food closet held only seven cans of soup, four cans of vegetables, a half-shelf of baby food and a few other miscellaneous items.
Student organizations sometimes hold benefits to stock the food closet, and some instructors help by giving students extra credit for food donations.
But as Laurie Abbott, the interns' supervisor, pointed out, "The whole system is contingent on the [Human Service] club and the interns."
One club member, Beverly Jones, remembers discussing a typical food shortage with her neighbors last year. Although many of them were struggling to feed their own families, she was able to collect eight grocery bags of food from her building alone. Nevertheless, food donations, even generous ones, rarely last long.
This semester there are five interns working at Garments and Garnishes. Because the interns change every semester, "it's a work in progress. It changes all the time depending on who is working there," said Martin, who also serves as an adviser to the interns. Recent improvements to the service include a system the interns helped design to ensure fair food distribution and the addition of Garments and Garnishes as a sign-up location for the SHARE food distribution program.
Abbott said that for the interns, "it's a good experience - it gives them a taste of a community social service-type organization."
Martin said, "It's a way for students to learn first-hand about dealing with people," and added that Garments and Garnishes is a good place to learn because it's a sheltered environment.
Garments and Garnishes is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays this semester. The service is free; clients need only provide their Social Security numbers.
Donations of non-perishable food and clothes that are washed and in good repair can be taken to Garments and Garnishes itself or to Abbott's office in Martin 123 on the New River college campus. Abbott urges those who need more information about the service to call her at 703-674-3600, extension 431.
by CNB