Clarendon Presbyterian Church (CPC) recently announced that it will continue holding monthly Drive-thru Food and Toiletry Collections to support our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness. Since the first Collection in June through the most recent one in December, the community donated the equivalent of 756 brown paper bags of groceries – an estimated value of $30,000.
The Drive-thru Collections are held on the second Saturday of every month (weather permitting) from 9:00 AM to Noon, with curbside drop-off outside the church and masks and social distancing required. The next event will be January 9.
Food donations will continue supporting Bridges to Independence in Clarendon. Bridges operates an emergency shelter with ten one- and two-bedroom apartments and can accommodate up to approximately 14 families with children at a time. Bridges also provides support to more than 40 families that recently moved out of the shelter into independent living. Priority food items include: Rice, cooking oil, boxed cereal, applesauce, juice, packaged healthy kids’ snacks, pasta and pasta sauces, ramen, canned beans and vegetables, and other dry food items.
Toiletry donations will continue supporting Residential Program Center (RPC) on Columbia Pike. RPC is a 44-bed shelter for men and women, run in partnership with Arlington County Department of Human Services. RPC also offers a day program providing showers, laundry facilities and meals to drop-in visitors. Priority toiletry items include: Razors (men’s and women’s), toothbrushes, toothpaste, shower curtains, queen size bed sheets, deodorant (regular and travel size), new men’s underwear (XL, 2XL, 3XL), new women’s underwear, new socks, combs and brushes, flip flops for showers, and bar soaps.
Clarendon Presbyterian Church is located at 1305 North Jackson Street, Arlington, VA 22201. If you have questions about Collection events and donations, or if you’d like to volunteer to help staff the events, please contact Blair Moorehead at [email protected] or (703) 527-9513.