EAST BRADY – Community, Service and Faith. That’s the mission behind an area clothing ministry that opened its doors late last year in the East Brady Community Center.
Threads of Hope provides new and gently used clothing for free or low cost to people in need.
“We want to be part of the community,” store volunteer the Rev. Bev Roscoe recently said. “We want to continue to grow and meet the needs within this community.”
Threads of Hope first opened in 2019 when store manager Amber Double and her aunt, Shelley Barnhart, were brainstorming ways to help area residents, especially children.
“While I was on a mission trip to Haiti, my aunt started brainstorming ways we could help people in our area,” Double said, noting that their vision came to life with the opening of the Kids Closet in the former Fairview United Methodist Church building, which had been purchased by the Petrolium Valley Food Cupboard. “We started out as a free kids closet, and it took off more than I ever expected.”
By 2023, the store had outgrown the space, and organizers decided that it was time to move to a larger, more central location.
“The Fairview church was isolated geographically so you had to be intentional about going there,” Roscoe said. “Our biggest day was probably once a month when they had the food pantry.”
According to Roscoe, organizers looked at a few places near Worthington and Chicora to relocate the store, but none of them worked out.
“We didn’t realize how hard it was going to be to find real estate,” Roscoe said, noting that the store closed at its Fairview location in May and didn’t reopen at its new home in East Brady until December. She credited store volunteer and treasurer Pat Craig with making the connection with East Brady Borough about renting space in the community center.
“We decided that it was better to pay a little bit of rent to have a large space that is clean, bright and handicapped accessible,” Roscoe said of their decision, noting, too, that the constant flow of people in and around the community center generates good foot traffic for the store.
In addition to a new location, the store became a ministry of the Chicora United Methodist Church, with several other churches providing financial support. It was renamed Threads of Hope and began accepting clothing donations from infant to adult sizes.
“People just started bringing truckloads of stuff,” Double said, adding that Threads of Hope offers everything from suits and other business attire to dresses and casual clothes, footwear and everything in between.
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“We really can clothe someone from head to toe,” volunteer Val Hilgar added.
Over the years, Double said, Threads of Hope has helped individuals following house fires or floods, unexpected foster children placements, domestic violence incidents and other emergencies, as well as in preparation for job interviews or new career opportunities.
Inventory at Threads of Hope is switched out two times a year, and end-of-the-season and other special sales are often scheduled.
“We want people to feel comfortable coming here and be able to find clothes they can wear,” volunteer Linda Hilliard said, pointing out that people have visited Threads of Hope from Butler, Slippery Rock, Emlenton, Pittsburgh, and even as far away as North Carolina and Michigan.
Double credited the success of Threads of Hope to the constant support of the local community by way of monetary and clothing donations, along with volunteer hours.
“Ultimately, the community donations are what keep us open,” she said, adding that the store is managed with approximately 10 regular volunteers, and has also partnered with the Arc of Butler County to offer skills training for adults with intellectual disabilities. “This community is amazing and always comes through with their generosity.”
Threads of Hope accepts donations of clean and stain-free clothing during regular business hours — 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.
“We ask that people do not donate if we’re not here,” volunteer Gayle Wright said.
Roscoe pointed out that Threads of Hope is the perfect opportunity for local individuals who don’t have reliable transportation to have a place to shop for clothes close to home.
Looking to the future, Roscoe said she hopes to see Threads of Hope continue to flourish and be a part of the community. She said she would also like to see the ministry expand to provide additional items customers might need.
“The Methodist Church has a long history looking for the gaps in services and finding a way to fill them,” Wright added. “We look for something that is being underserved and work to fix it.”
For more information, visit Threads of Hope on Facebook.
