MAAC Clothing Depot will be moving in Medina
File photo: Clothing Depot volunteers are pictured in 2014 and include, from left: Sharon Breckinridge, Donna Barnum, Alice Zacher and Sue Metzo.
MEDINA – The Clothing Depot, run by the Medina Area Association of Churches, will be heading to a different site, the former Bells Supermarket at the corner of Orient and Starr streets.
The Clothing Depot is current part of the old Medina High School, the Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God on Catherine Street.
But that building has been purchased by Roger Hungerford and Talis Equity and will be renovated into apartments. The MAAC can stay in the building until June 30.
The MAAC said the former Bells site, which is owned by Matt Mundion, will be better location for displaying the used clothing, furniture and other items. The site has one big room. At Calvary, the MAAC uses a larger room and then four smaller rooms, said Sue Metzo, one of the board members and a volunteer with the Clothing Depot since 2006.
“It’s big enough and it has parking,” she said about the former Bells.
The site needs work before the MAAC can move in. The group is seeking community support to help with renovations. If the MAAC can assist Mundion with work on the building, that will result in a much more affordable lease. If Mundion has to do the improvements, Metzo said MAAC will have to pay more for rent.
The group has sent an appeal letter to the community, seeking support with renovations to the building.
The Depot has provided a way for residents to donate quality clothing and housewares, and then be purchased by customers, especially many in lower-income families, Metzo said.
The MAAC raises about $30,000 to $35,000 from the Clothing Depot each year that is donating back to the community, assisting Scouts, church projects, senior citizens, high school scholarships, Hospice of Orleans and other organizations.
Metzo said the MAAC has been looking for a site for the Clothing Depot for about 18 months. Many of the sites required rent that was three or four times what the MAAC has been giving Calvary. Mundion has offered a good deal, she said.
Once renovations are done, Metzo said the MAAC will start moving over many smaller items to the former Bells. The MAAC may need a professional mover to help with larger items, such as racks, counters and tables.
“We would certainly appreciate any donation of materials, money, or talent that anyone could give,” Metzo said.
The MAAC said the former Bells will need a new cage for incoming donations, a wall to separate the store area from the work area, more lighting, a furnace, and a good cleaning before it is painted.
The Clothing Depot goes back to least 2005 at Calvary. There are about 25 volunteers from several churches who run the site, which is open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Donations can be sent to the MAAC, PO Box 253, Medina, NY 14103.
For more information, email medinaareaasso.ofchurches@gmail.com.
