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Community Corner

Bridges Holding Holiday Clothing Drive

Bridges is holding a mens coat and boot drive for the homeless.

The homeless in three major cities can look forward to a warmer winter this year. 

Bridges Outreach Inc., a volunteer organization dedicated to helping out its underprivileged friends, is hosting a holiday drive for men’s clothing and boots.

Shelters such as the Newark YMCA and emergency housing organizations such as the Irvington Neighborhood Improvement supply the need: the less-fortunate and homeless.  Bridges provides the necessities: weekly bagged lunches and breakfasts, clothing, toiletries and blankets, said Director Lois Bhatt.

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“This year we said we don’t get a lot of things for young adult men,” said Mabel Elmore, director of Emergency Residence and the Youth Emergency Program at the Newark YMCA.  “I mentioned it in passing to (Bhatt), and they brought the clothes.”

Bridges holds drives throughout the year, though the Web site states that specific items are preferred for each season.  As the holidays rapidly approach Bridges has put out a request for new, unused items, though the organization does accept gently used items throughout the year.

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People receiving these gifts will get to choose between 2 and 3. They can try on the clothing to make sure it fits.  Men’s coats and boots are especially needed. 

“We will receive women’s clothing – we always do – but men’s clothing is hard to come by,” said Bhatt.  “As it gets colder, it becomes necessary (for the homeless) to layer their clothing, so a lot of clothes like hoodies and sweatshirts become unisex.”

Bridges began with Geoff and Ginger Worden of Summit.  According to their Web site, they brought bagged lunches and thermoses of soup and coffee for the homeless one night in September of 1988.  The need was so great and the Wordens enjoyed the experience so much that they brought their friends along.  Each week the number of mouths to feed increased as word spread amongst the homeless community.

The organization took on the name “Bridges” after the Brooklyn Bridge, where the Wordens met their first homeless friend that night in September.  Now, Bridges covers a more vast area including lower Manhattan, Newark, Irvington, and specifically Lincoln Park and Penn Station.

“Initially we went out on a Friday night and saw a small group of people, the smallest being 10 or 12, and now we go out on a Friday night in New York and we can see up to 150 people,” said Pam Gumport, Bridges chairperson.

With the state of the economy, the number of homeless and their needs have grown, said Reverend Scaife of the Irvington Neighborhood Improvement.  Gumport said that the need for warm clothing was so strong that during clothing runs she has wanted to “take the coat off my back and hand it to people.”

Last year Bridges gave out over 1,600 gifts, said Bhatt.  The holiday run will be held on December 21. 

Bridges’ donation days are Tuesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m..  The main office is located at 120 Morris  Avenue, the Oakes Center, and the entrance is by Russell Place.  For more information visit: www.bridgesoutreach.net/

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