Faith met fashion at Hammonton Victory Bible Church on April 6 for their Buttons and Blessings event. The church invited the public to look through and pick out free clothes donated by the public. In a hard time economically in the country, Victory Bible Church eased a huge burden for everyone who attended.
“We started the event for people in the community for people in need of clothing and stuff like that. And it started not just by me, Victory [Bible]’s event had grown for a long time, a long time. And then a lot of people came in to go we know and he took over and it’s, it’s just a beautiful thing,” Anny Barabin, co-event organizer said.
Tables filled the church from wall to wall, ranging from adult clothing to toddler clothes. The church gathered clothes from its congregation or anyone who wanted to donate. Though they’ve had the event for years, donations always fill the room. People come ready with their own bags, or bags provided by the church, and take whatever they want or need.
In a town like Hammonton, there wasn’t a shortage of community outreach and a desire to help each other. Event organizers, and even the community itself, helped each other pick out clothes they wanted or needed.
“This is why people need church all the time,” event organizer Anna Maggi said. “I think the church really needs to step up and show the community that we’re not supposed to be [divided]. We are about family and we are supposed to love everyone.”
While the country is suffering from economic hardships, a bigger issue has been social media speculation about the “End Times” following the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse on March 26, the northeast 4.8 earthquake on April 5 and the solar eclipse on April 8. Maggi reassured how this hysteria is nothing more than over-dramatization of things that have happened before.
“He gives us signs when He tells us when [the End Times] are coming. There’s no sense in waiting and worrying, just live right and you don’t have to worry about it,” Maggi said.
Besides grabbing necessities like warm weather clothing or children’s clothes, there were some interesting finds at the clothing drive. There were a few pair of heels in great shape, shirts from name brands like Shein or Forever 21 and even a beautiful women’s fur coat.
Not only was the event a financial help, but it also promoted sustainability through lightly used clothing. Reusing lightly used, donated clothing limits clothing production that leads to air and ground pollution.
As mentioned by an expecting mother, she wants to use the clothing until her baby grows out of it and it’ll be donated again.
Victory Bible Church will host more events for the public as the weather gets warmer.
The church will host a car show and yard sale on May 18. Proceeds from the yard sale will go to different things in the Hammonton community, like the cancer society. Anyone who wants to donate or volunteer is encouraged to reach out to the Victory Bible Church Facebook page.
This article was produced in collaboration with New Jersey Civic Information Consortium and Rowan University.