NAHANT — Nahant Village Church has teamed up with the nonprofit Mission for Hope to rally the community together for a summer donation drive to help those in need within surrounding communities.
The church has been busy collecting different types of donations — everything from toothbrushes and mouthwash to socks and shirts — and though the nonprofit is planning to do an outreach program on Saturday in places like Lynn and Revere, the church will continue to collect donations for those who need them.
Mission for Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit aimed at improving the lives of those struggling with poverty, according to its website.
Christie Stevens, office manager for Nahant Village Church, talked about the church’s efforts to keep donations piling up.
“We had worked with (Mission For Hope) founder Leighton O’Connor before, and we collected donations for him where we collected clothes and socks for people, but we also thought we should be doing something during the summer,” Stevens said. “He suggested we collect hygiene products, and it was a great ask. … It’s something easy that people can do, and the community has been fabulous.”
She noted that while the church already has a box stockpiled with donations inside the church foyer, they will be accepting donations through the end of the month, which the nonprofit will distribute during future outreach events.
O’Connor noted that some of the clothing items people most frequently need are socks and underwear, though toward the fall, the nonprofit looks to collect items like sweatpants and sweatshirts.
He described the impact he sees the nonprofit’s effort has on those in need. “The people are just really appreciative of everything, because sometimes they don’t have much and can’t carry much … and because they don’t have much, they wear through what they have pretty quickly,” O’Connor said.
He said residents also have the option to bring in cash donations to the church, who will take the funds and go to procure more donation items to help the cause.
