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Community gets clothing for free thanks to Hilliard church’s event

The financial stress of sending kids back to school can be overwhelming, but one Hilliard church is making sure families have the basic resources they need, like clothes.

HILLIARD, Fla. - The financial stress of sending kids back to school can be overwhelming, but one Hilliard church is making sure families have the basic resources they need, like clothes.

The annual clothing giveaway at River Road Baptist Church began Friday and continues through Saturday. The church collected clothing year-round in preparation for the event.

“They don’t have money to go out and buy the school clothes, or husbands or wives have lost their jobs and they can’t afford to buy clothing, period,” Roxann Blackstock, one of the event’s organizers, said.

Blackstock said the event started nine years ago with the help of her granddaughter, Brittany, who had a passion for helping others. Brittany was born with a heart condition and passed away at the age of 22. Now, Blackstock and close friend Janet Plummer carry on the event in Brittany’s memory.

The event can change lives; Blackstock and Plummer remembered last year when a woman drove in from Palatka to line up before the doors opened. The woman was there for one reason.

“As soon as we opened the doors up, she busted in the doors, tears streaming down her face and went straight to the wedding dress,” Blackstock said. “And she came to pick it up for her niece that was getting married because they did not have the money to get her a bride’s dress.”

Inside the church, people can find clothing for all members of the family. Everything, including food, is free. Anyone can attend, no questions asked.

Ingram Jernigan and her husband, John, drove down from Folkston. The couple has six children between the ages of four and 12 with a seventh on the way.

“It helps a lot because we do have a budget and the things that we can’t get are here,” Jernigan said. “And whatever else we need to pick up, we’ll pick up.”

The Jernigans were just some of the hundreds of people to fill up bags with clothes for the whole family Friday. The clothes may not be new, and they may be free, but that doesn’t mean they’re not priceless.

“They were given to you from the heart,” John Jernigan said. “They welcome you in and they let you get all that you can get, in order for you to have all that you need.”

The event runs Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at River Road Baptist Church, 21067 County Road 121 in Hilliard. Donations will be accepted at the door.

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