submitted by Melissa Putterman Hoffmann
The Annual Berlin Community Clothing Swap will take place on Thursday, January 23, from 2:30 to 5:30 pm and Saturday, January 25, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm in the cafeteria at Berlin Middle School/High School. According to Dianne Mosher, coordinator of the Winter Forum on Families in Need and a Family and Consumer Science teacher at Berlin Middle/High School, the Clothing Swap began six years ago when a group of concerned citizens from the community and staff from the Berlin schools were identifying the needs of families in a time that was becoming increasing economically stressful.
The Clothing Swap, now in its sixth year, serves families in the Berlin Central School District and surrounding community. Community members are invited to donate gently worn clothing for all age groups, as well as take any clothing they can use.
No donation of clothing is necessary in order to take clothing – the point of the event is to provide clothing to anyone in need. Dorothy Stall, school nurse and Winter Forum member, explained, “The clothing swap is for everyone. We all know how fast kids grow – often outgrowing clothes before they wear them out. Additionally, how many times have you bought something for your child that makes them say ‘you don’t expect me to wear that, do you?’ That’s the reason you might even find clothes with tags still on them at the swap. Many of our teens these days enjoy the outfits they can put together from second-hand shops. This makes shopping local. So come see what you can find, and if you have things you can donate, bring them along.” For more information, contact Melissa Putterman Hoffmann at 658-2515 x227.