by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The Sulzbacher Center got some nice duds Monday courtesy of the Jacksonville Bar Association.
JBA President Alan Pickert and attorney Hugh Cotney both credited the other for the three-month drive that netted four racks of suits, slacks, shirts, blouses, dresses and shoes for the homeless center. Cotney said the clothes drive was Pickert’s idea while Pickert quickly countered that Cotney was the one who ran the effort — as a sole practitioner, no less.
Regardless, the Sulzbacher benefits by getting nice clothes for its residents, many of whom will wear the clothes when they go on job interviews.
Colleen Farris is the Center’s director of community resources development. She said all donations are greatly appreciated and the nicer clothes will certainly help the Center’s residents land jobs.
“We as a center try to provide as many services as possible, but with no budget for things like clothes, this will help,” said Farris.
The Sulzbacher Center serves about 2,000 adults and children a year. Farris said about one-quarter of them are handicapped to the extent where employment is difficult to impossible. But, many do reclaim their lives and find gainful employment.
“Goodwill is on-site and they work with our residents on job skills, writing resumes and getting placed,” explained Farris, adding that clothing distribution is handled through a volunteer voucher system, through which residents are paired with case managers who determine the clothing needs of the resident.
“Some volunteers are generous enough to buy what we don’t have, which are socks and underwear,” said Farris.
Another major current need is shoes.
“We are desperate for men’s size 10 tennis shoes,” she said.
In addition to clothes drives held by the Bar Association, the Center also benefits greatly from major corporations. Farris said that when Fidelity National Financial changed its corporate logo, the company donated many of its old shirts.
“We also get a lot of things from events that have left over T-shirts,” said Jordan Boss, the Center’s director of development.