The Deacon's Bench
Call it winter warmers on wheels.
A Buffalo church sent a crew of volunteers to help clothe some city residents in Tuesday morning’s single-digit temperatures.
True Bethel Baptist Church rolled out its “Shepherd’s Closet” bus, handing out gloves, hats and scarves to children waiting for school buses and others on city streets.
The church’s Shepherd’s Closet is a converted school bus, with racks of coats and containers of winter wear inside for men, women and children. A crew of five volunteers spent about an hour Tuesday morning distributing winter clothing on the first run of the season for the bus.
“We were concerned that if we did not go out, we would miss the need,” said the Rev. Darius G. Pridgen. “And so we started this morning. We were amazed at how many children especially were not properly dressed for the weather.”
“It’s just been a really overwhelming day,” he said.
On Tuesday, the bus route covered parts of East Ferry Street and Bailey Avenue, as well as in the Langfield Homes area. The church plans to take the bus beyond the East Side, to anywhere in the city with a need, Pridgen said.
Volunteers said they saw a lot of need on Buffalo’s streets as children headed to school and adults were waiting for buses.
In one family helped by Shepherd’s Closet on Tuesday, all the children were properly dressed, but their mother wasn’t. In total, Pridgen estimated, volunteers were able to help about 60 people in about an hour Tuesday.
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