Editor's Note: This is the latest article in the Co-op Cares series that we have in partnership with the 小蓝视频ern Plains Co-op. We are proud to place a spotlight on the different organizations serving our region. Thanks to the Co-op for supporting this initiative.听
听
A willingness to support each other and ensure that nobody is falling through the cracks is what defines a real community, and there is no doubt that Estevan belongs to this category.听听
For over 25 years, a project that started as a clothing exchange out of the basement of the Estevan Church of Christ has been run by volunteers, who wanted to make sure that no matter what the situation is, anyone in the community could get clothes and footwear. 听
The initiative has been supplying whatever clothing items people need at no charge. And it doesn't need to be an exchange. 听
It started as a congregation initiative, where anyone who had time would help organize clothing donations and then they had people come in and take whatever they needed. For many years, Estevan's Diane Jocelyn ran the project, and in the spring of 2015, Doug and Penny Deren took it over as they didn't want to see it fold. 听
Penny used to work for the Envision Counselling and Support Centre, where she came across many people in difficult life situations who did need all kinds of help. 听
"I worked for Envision before and I brought families here 鈥� so that they could get things. (There were many cases) where all of a sudden they had to leave their situation, took the kids and went with nothing because their partner was abusive or whatever," Penny recalled. "I knew it was a really needed thing, so we didn't want it to fold."听
"There's always been a need, and you're just trying to fill that need," Doug said. 听
There is one more person who helps the Derens organize donated clothes. They open the big community closet to anyone from anywhere in the southeast who needs clothes for themselves or their families. They also have smaller household items, which some people may need depending on their situation. 听
While they can't accept any bigger items, they did help to get donated furniture delivered to those who needed it. 听
"We'll go pick it up and take it to people. Doug has a trailer," said Penny.听
Over the years the initiative helped out thousands of people in the area. 听
During the boom times more people would come in for help, and at some point, they even had to limit people to 10 items per person. But lately, the initiative sees a lot of donations coming and not so many people reaching out for help, so they currently have a great selection of all kinds of items and people can take as many things as they need. 听
It takes a lot of time to organize clothes, especially during seasonal switchovers, but as the need persists the Derens feel that it's a very rewarding job and they only want to see more people utilize the service.听
"I'd like more people to come right now, because I know there's a lot of need out there," Penny said, underlining that all their operations these days are done in the safest manner. 听
Before the pandemic, clothes viewing or exchanges would take place twice a month on designated dates, and on these dates, there often would be over 100 people coming in. Now with health and safety measures in place, people need to phone Penny and arrange a time for individual or one-family visits. 听
All incoming items are quarantined, the area is sanitized between visits, and all other COVID-19 related rules are followed thoroughly. People can arrange for a visit to bring in donations or to pick up some items by calling or texting Penny at 306-421-9543.听 听
