Mt. Hope Community Presbyterian Church in Penn Hills has more than just worship services going on under its roof.
Downstairs, Wendy Redington leads a team of 11 faithful volunteers to stock the Clothesline Ministry.
And on Thursday mornings, members of the Hearts and Hands Ministry are busy making a variety of handmade goods.
The Clothesline
The organization offers new and gently used clothing to people in need for free from 10 a.m. to noon each Thursday.
“If you can’t make it then, we will make arrangements,” Redington said.
She and other volunteers sort through donations during the week. Redington said they receive enough donations to have the privilege of being picky when selecting clothes to give out.
“The rule when sorting is ‘If you wouldn’t wear it, we’re not putting it out,’ ” Redington said.
Donations are sized, sorted and either hung up or folded for people to browse. Items not put out in the closet often are donated to other organizations such as Light of Life Mission or Dress for Success.
One of the greater needs the Clothesline has is for men’s clothes.
“We always need men’s clothing,” Redington said. “We don’t get them donated too often because men will wear their clothes until they fall off.”
The closet also needs more children’s clothing for ages 4 to 14.
Redington of Penn Hills took over the program about four and a half years ago. She had been donating to the Clothesline for years until one day a volunteer said they were no longer accepting donations since the closet was at risk of shutting down because of a lack of volunteers.
Redington shared the news with her friend, Lorraine Courtright, and they agreed, “If you do it, I’ll do it.”
Since then, Redington has surprised herself with her ability to be persuasive.
“Being able to get people to help with something once is one thing. Anyone can do that,” Redington said. “But we have people come back every week wanting to help.”
In addition to a steady volunteer rotation, the organization has been able to expand from one room to separate child and adult clothing rooms. Redington said the volunteers have painted the rooms as well.
She said her favorite part of the group is being able to help people.
“We recently had victims of a house fire come in. They needed everything,” Redington said. “We don’t have limits. If you need it, take it. We’re fortunate that we get a lot of wonderful things.”
Hearts and Hands
While community members are looking through clothing downstairs on Thursday mornings, members of the Hearts and Hands Ministry are in the upper level of the church making crafts to donate.
Debbie Dillman, a lifelong member of Mt. Hope, founded the mission 20 years ago when the pastor at the time asked her to chair a mission committee. Dillman of Monroeville wanted to make the position more community-focused.
“I wanted to reach out and be able to help the community,” she said.
Hearts and Hands started with some fabric.
A parishioner was moving and donated fabric to the Hearts and Hands Ministry. Dillman called UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to see what they needed. The hospital said teaching dolls.
Teaching dolls are simply sewn dolls made from fabric that are used by medical professionals to show children where things such as IVs and shots will go on their bodies. Children are allowed to draw a face on the doll and sometimes they color them.
The group meets once a week to craft their newest projects. Dillman said attendance ranges between eight and 20 volunteers. She said the mission strengthens fellowship among parishioners who may not have the ability to meet regularly.
Over the years, the group made and donated more than 3,000 teaching dolls to Children’s Hospital, Dillman said. When covid hit, the group’s production slowed since the hospital was no longer accepting donations other than financial to protect patients from the virus.
After that, the group began offering its services to more groups in need, including Family Care Connections, a UPMC program that offers home visiting, parenting education, behavioral counseling and resources for basic needs such as food, diapers and transportation. Hearts and Hands makes blankets, scarves and hats for the families in the program.
“(Leading Hearts and Hands) makes me realize how very fortunate I am,” Dillman said.
They also provide new mothers in the program with newborn packets including bibs and burping towels.
“Everything we do is handmade,” Dillman said.
The group also visits local nursing homes and donates handmade door hangings for the residents each season.
Among other projects, the group makes items for Little Dresses for Africa and Project Linus.
“Just knowing that places know they can call us … it does my heart good,” Dillman said. “It’s a blessing to be able to touch people’s lives and help them.”