By Susan Bromley

Staff Writer

Brandon Twp.

– Children grow fast and clothing them can be costly.

With this in mind, a local church is stepping up to help families struggling to keep their young ones in clothes that fit, and is asking for some assistance in their efforts.

Matt Bailey, pastor of the Brandon Community Church of the Nazarene, said the idea for Brandon’s Community Clothing Closet was born from a simple question: “If the church closed its doors, how long would it take for the community to notice?”

“The idea was to meet a need so vital that people would recognize if we weren’t doing it,” said Bailey. “What are we doing to be vital, rather than waiting for the community to come to us. What are we doing to invest in the community. We shifted from how to build a church to how do we minister?”

Enter the clothing closet. Bailey and church members have remodeled a room at the church located at 2300 S. Ortonville Road so that shoppers feel like they are in an upscale children’s clothing boutique. Right now the store is only a room with a few shelves minimally lined with kids clothing from newborn up to roughly the end of elementary school, but this is just the beginning and they are hoping the donations start flooding in.

The clothing closet seeks contributions of all kinds— from onesies and pajamas to jeans and coats and shoes for both boys and girls.

All donations should be of clean, gently used items.

“We welcome all donations of clothing, any size, but just from talking with families with kids, they are running out of clothing to put them in,” said Bailey, who is working with the Ortonville Community Emergency Fund, who will refer clients to the closet who are in need of clothes. Brandon’s Community Clothing Closet will be open on Tuesday mornings beginning Nov. 15. Clients can also identify what their needs are on a form available at brandoncommunity.com.

If you have clothes to donate, either for children, teens or adults, bring them to Brandon Community Church, 2300 S. Ortonville Road to drop off between 9 a.m.-noon Tuesday through Thursday, or call 248-236-5141 to schedule a time to drop-off clothes. Donations are tax-deductible.