An excess of inventory led to a unique partnership between Red Legacy Recovery and the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library.
The organizations are joining together to hold a special clothing giveaway on Tuesday, Nov. 22, and Wednesday, Nov. 23, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. inside the library.
It was an interesting way of coming together, according to Charlee Workman with the library, after learning of Red Legacy’s success of gathering donated clothes for the community, which resulted in the agency having to obtain storage units to store the items.
“They’ve taken in so many donations, which is great,” she said about Red Legacy. “We got together to hold this event for two days.”
Red Legacy, located on East Elk Avenue, is an official provider for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, serving as an addiction recovery program.
To go along with the event, Workman added the library is also accepting gently-used clothing from citizens as donations to assist with the two-day affair.
Any individuals looking to take part in the event are encouraged to bring a plastic bag and “fill it up,” Workman added, as both agencies look at a way to help make an impact for community members during the holiday season.
And don’t expect this to be the last time this event will occur, either, Workman added.
“Starting in January, we’re planning on making this a regular event,” she said. “It’ll be on the third Saturday of each month.”
The use of plastic bags isn’t just for the clothing giveaway either, Workman said. The library is also accepting grocery bags to be used to create items to benefit homeless residents in the region.
Workman added she gathered the idea of utilizing plastic after searching online and seeing the impact individuals in Union, Tenn., were able to make by crocheting bags into mats for the homeless.
In a recent interview with the Elizabethton Star, Workman — who founded the local Crochet Club — added the use of mats is part of the club’s project.
“We all have our own little things we are working on,” she said. “But when we get together… this is what we do.”
The club is working to make mats, blankets and pillows to be given out to the homeless.
But the art of making a plarn mat includes cutting plastic shopping bags into strips and linking them together. Once linked, individuals will crochet the plarn into a mat — six feet long and three feet wide.
Workman added that it takes 600 to 800 bags to make one mat. But once items are either created or donated, the club is working in conjunction with the Appalachian Regional Coalition on Homelessness to make sure items are sent in the right direction.
For more information on the clothing giveaway or how to aid in the effort to combat homelessness, contact the library at (423) 547-6360.