Clothing Drive by Edina Church Yields
Sea of Socks

Members of Cross View Lutheran Church in Edina knew they’d have a successful clothing drive last month for The Salvation Arm’s Harbor Light Shelter in downtown Minneapolis. But they couldn’t have guessed that the amount of clothes they’d gather would be nearly back-breaking.

“We filled three big containers so full of clothes the containers were nearly ready to break,” said Clint Sawinski, a Cross View member who helped lead the effort.

So full were the containers that The Salvation Army had to pick them up two weeks before the drive was over. By the time the drive ended Dec. 19, yet another container was jam-packed.

What’s most impressive is that much of the load consisted of clothing items that by themselves are very light – socks.

“That’s what the folks at Harbor Light said they needed,” Sawinski added.

True indeed. Salvation Army Donor Relations Manager Dawn Crowell visited Harbor Light during the clothing drive and noticed a resident leaving to bell ring without socks on.

“There was this woman, on her way to stand at the kettle all day and all evening, and she wasn't wearing any socks,” Crowell said. “I asked one of the staff if there were any socks available in the clothing room and he said they had given them all out yesterday.”

The Salvation Army pays Harbor Light residents to bell ring, jobs that help them on their way to self-sufficiency.

“We are extremely thankful for the efforts of Cross View,” said Major Paul Fleeman, commander of the Twin Cities Salvation Army. “The clothes they donated will go a long way in keeping shelter residents warm during the cold months ahead.”