Championing clothing insecurity for Carmel students in need.
Julie Meeks is a champion for clothing insecurities for Carmel, Indiana students in need. You will find her, along with Orchard Park Presbyterian Church’s Clothesline Ministry, hidden away in a small closet upstairs near the children’s ministry rooms.
Julie has championed the Clothesline Ministry for several years. OPPC partners with 6 Carmel Clay elementary and middle schools to provide clothing, free of charge, to students who are identified as needing help by school counselors and social workers. The ministry involves collecting new, used and gently used clothing from congregation members, Presbyterian Women’s rummage sale, neighborhood families and school lost & found bins. Julie, and other volunteers, sort the donations, decide what to keep, and launder the clothes. When a request comes in, Julie fills the request and delivers it to the school counselor. Typical clothing package includes 3 outfits (plain t-shirts and shorts/pants), along with new underwear and socks. Gift cards to Goodwill, Walmart and Meijer supplement any additional needs.
Currently, Julie and her team fill requests for about 30-40 school children each year. However, the demand is growing with requests from more schools and the lack of other non-profits filling this need. Julie is passionate about making sure kids have clothes they will wear when with their peer group.
For the first time, OPPC partnered with Kids for Coats and Carmel United Methodist Church in November 2022, to provide socks and underwear for 130 Carmel Clay school students who requested winter coats. We provided enough socks and underwear for a week’s worth of wash & wear.
Orchard Park Presbyterian Church2 is also partnering with Carmel Youth Assistance Program to provide needed clothing to Carmel High School students.
If you would like to help this wonderful cause, you can help by donating children’s clothes, volunteering to sort, launder & shelve clothes, donating money for new underwear & socks, contributing gift cards to Goodwill, Meijer & Walmart and supporting state-wide initiatives to ensure at-risk school children are food, housing, and clothing secure.
If you would like more information about the clothesline ministry at Orchard Park Presbyterian Church, you may contact the church or email Julie Meeks (jules.meeks8@gmail.com) and Cindy Muse (cindyanddavidmuse@gmail.com) directly.
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Mission Spotlight 2023- Clothesline Ministry: Sock & Underwear Drive | Orchard Park Presbyterian Church says:
October 31, 2023 at 1:56 pm[…] Ministry provides clothing to at-risk Carmel Clay Elementary and Middle school students. Click here to read more about this amazing […]