Women pick through clothes in the "Ladies Room" Monday afternoon at the Rochester Methodist Church Community Closet building.
Wilma Pogue, a volunteer, opens bags of donated clothes and sorts through them Monday afternoon at the Rochester Methodist Church Community Closet building.
Registration Volunteer Gayle Judson, right, signs in Marcia London, of Rochester, left, Monday afternoon at the Rochester Methodist Church Community Closet building.
Bror Teodoro, 4, holds up a toy fire engine he got from a donated toy pile while sporting a red fire hat Monday afternoon at the Rochester Methodist Church Community Closet building.
Tiffany Hartley, left, and Jeaneth Silvestre, far right, pick out clothes for their young children Monday afternoon at the Rochester Methodist Church Community Closet building.
Susie Hawes, manager of the community closet, left, and Pastor Psm Brokaw, right, sort through clothes and talk about the upcoming fashion show Monday afternoon at the Rochester Methodist Church.
Volunteers Helen Foster, left, and Cheryle Piontek, right, sort through donated items Monday afternoon at the Rochester Methodist Church Community Closet building.
Patrons will need to lick their fingers clean before examining the wares at the inaugural Hoedown Western BBQ Dinner at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at Swede Hall in Rochester.
The event is hosted by the Rochester United Methodist Church, with proceeds to benefit the Community Clothing Closet and other philanthropic programs run by the church. Tickets cost $20 and include a dinner of pulled pork sliders, mac and cheese, baked beans, coleslaw and potato salad. Big T’s BBQ of Centralia is catering the fundraiser.
Entertainment will be provided by a slew of volunteers who have signed up to model clothing from the Community Clothing Closet, some of whom will also perform skits. The clothing bank, first established in 2006, has given out more than 46,000 articles of clothing
Silent and live auctions will take place throughout the evening, with Centralia City Council member Peter Abbarno serving as master of ceremonies.
“We did a small fashion show a few years ago just within the church itself,” said Susie Hawes, manager of the community closet and many other church activities.
“We always thought it would be fun to have an event like this as a fundraiser. We do some other outreach programs like the soup kitchen that feeds people twice a week. Money from this will go to fund that and other programs as well.”
One of the auction items sure to be highly sought after is some time with Bill Dunson out at Gate Ranch Golf Course. Dunson and his deceased brother Jim have become more than just local celebrities since television personality Mike Rowe dedicated an episode of his show “Returning the Favor” last year to their labor of love.
Hawes said that not only will the winning bidder receive a 30-minute golf lesson and a signed golf ball from Dunson, they’ll receiving a dose of his old-school wisdom that endeared him to viewers nationwide.
Other notable auction items include a two-night stay in Westport and numerous gift certificates donated by local business owners.
“I’ve been so appreciative of everything the community is doing by volunteering and providing items for the auctions,” Pastor Pam Brokaw said. “It’s been something that’s very homegrown, kind of like everyone bringing something to the table to share and celebrate while raising funds to help our programs that serve the community.”
Brokaw added that she hopes the event also brings attention to church initiatives not as well known as the clothing or food offerings, citing a growing youth program as an example.
Church members have become more involved with animal rescue efforts as the local feral cat population has increased and other animals are left unattended or abandoned by their owners.
“This has become a huge challenge for us,” Brokaw said. “From a humanitarian perspective, it’s also a big concern.”
Clothing remains the most popular area of service for the church not only via the community closet but also a thrift store started last year to help defray some of the cost.
The store is currently open every other weekend, though organizers hope to expand the hours in the near future.
“We are a small church with a limited number of volunteers, so we do have to pace ourselves,” Brokaw said. “It has been very helpful in bringing people to the site, and actually, we’re finding that people from outside the area come and make a stop here. It’s actually something that is a draw to Rochester itself, and that’s been a neat part of all of this.”
Tickets can be purchased at the Rochester United Methodist Church, Mills Diner in Rochester and the Grand Mound Rochester Chamber of Commerce. For more information, call Susie Hawes at 360-280-7797.
