Clothing drive helps fire victims and community

GIRARDVILLE, Pa. — Inside the Girardville borough building, the tables were stacked with dozens of articles of clothes, all donated through a clothing drive and free to anyone in need of clothes, whether they live here or in another community.

There were clothes for men, women, boys, and girls of all different sizes.

Fiona Ferla came in from Pottsville and so grateful for the clothing drive.

“I know that a lot of people are in need of help, and this is a great thing. I don’t know a lot of clothing drives, so I heard about this one, and I live in Schuylkill County, so it was not too far,” said Ferla.

Girardville’s mayor Michael Zangari helped organize this clothing drive and says with the pandemic, the borough wanted to offer any assistance it could.

Zangari says this clothing drive has already helped a family.

A family of four lost everything they owned after a fire broke out inside their home on West Main Street in Girardville Friday morning.

Two children and their father were taken to Lehigh Valley Cedar Crest.

The mayor and his father, Girardville’s fire chief, brought the mother to the borough building, where they gave her boxes of clothes.

“We were able to give, I bet you, somewhere in the ballpark about 60 items of clothing to that family that day,” said Zangari.

The mayor says the clothing drive was planned before the fire happened, and when people heard how the borough helped the family out, they wanted to do what they could to help as well.

“Now you have their neighbors reaching out to give back to help out. It doesn’t have to be the fire department or municipality. Now you just have every day, your neighbors,” said Zangari.

“Things like this can bring a little bit of light into people’s eyes, into their homes as well,” added Ferla.

The mayor says the father was released from the hospital, and the mother believes the children will be released soon.

There will be another free clothing drive at the Girardville borough building Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m.