BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — Tricia's Trunk is a community closet at a local Blythewood church. On top of the sanctuary, it provides free clothes for all ages. It collects donations from the community so people can come shop for whatever they need.
On a normal Saturday, volunteer Amy Wrightsman tells News 19 there can be 100 people sorting through the clothes.
"We’ve definitely noticed an uptick of families coming," she explained. "When I first started here, I think about 25 or so people. And now it is not abnormal to have about 100 people on a Saturday that we've been open, so we definitely see that there’s a greater need now for clothes for the family."
Pastor Chris Hanley says that providing free clothes to people in need is a way to extend kindness as a church.
"These are just very practical needs that folks have," he said. "Sometimes we get to see the same people each and every month and most of this is done by volunteers…"
And donations. The closet accepts clothing and toys from community members like Nannette Brown Jackson.
"It takes a village to have a community and raise a community together, so I think being in a community so small and so close-knit, it’s very beneficial for those who are in the community and who it serves," Brown Jackson said about why she donates.
"People when they think of Blythewood, they may not think that there’s a great need for clothing and other items that we provide at Tricia’s Trunk," Wrightsman said. "But even though we’re small, there’s actually a great need for clothes in our area."
To meet this need, the closet is trying to serve more members.
"We think it just really helps meet people’s felt needs with the clothing and beyond, so we treasure that opportunity to be a blessing in our community," Hanley said.
On Tuesday, it opened the doors to people who may not be able to come on the weekend.
"We wanted to give an opportunity, give the folks that normally work Monday through Friday an opportunity to maybe stop by on their lunch hour, or if they normally work on the weekends, that they can swing by between 11 to 1," Wrightsman explained.
Tricia's Trunk will be open again on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. with some new inventory. Last month, it was closed to switch the seasonal clothes. Now, fall and winter clothing items are available.
The closet currently needs donations of brand new socks and underwear and pants for baby boys age 0-12 months. If you’d like to donate, you can email the church at slbc@sandylevel.org.
Tricia's Trunk plans to continue serving residents one Saturday a month, with additional days available depending on inventory and volunteer availability. Looking to the future, Hanley hopes to keep expanding - outside of its current location.
"We would love to see Tricia’s trunk really in a safer space. The top floor of a 170-year-old sanctuary is not the best place to have a ministry like that, but the Lord gave us the opportunity to start where we were and to use what we had and to do what we can, and that’s what we want to continue to do, but we’d love to see it in a standalone facility," he detailed. "Whether we can acquire something to do that or erect something on our campus…we’ve talked about that for years and we would love to see that happen."