The Hilton Clothing Closet (HCC), located at Hilton Baptist Church (HBC), 50 Lake Avenue, is one of the helping branches of the Hilton-Parma Community Council of Churches. It is open for “shopping” every Tuesday (9 to 11:30 a.m.), the first Thursday of the month (5 to 7 p.m.) and the third Saturday of the month (9 to 11 a.m. ). Everything is free, thanks to HBC’s rent-free location, lots of donations from the community, and volunteers who provide many hours of time sorting all of those donations. It’s important to note that the HCC is open to everyone; there are no residency or financial requirements. The goal is to help everyone stretch their clothing budget and keep clothes out of the landfill whenever possible. Clothes are inspected several times in HCC’s process to make sure shoppers receive the best the community has to offer.
The Hilton Clothing Closet had a very busy 2024 as well as the beginning of 2025. Due to community support and donations, in addition to being available to the local community, the HCC was able to accommodate many special requests during the past six months. They were able to provide 10 boxes of clothing of assorted sizes and gender for those impacted by Hurricane Helene in Asheville, North Carolina. These were transported to Asheville by a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church. The HCC also gathered summer clothes for a local pastor to take to Africa on a mission trip and winter clothing for infants and toddlers at the Coldwater Women’s shelter. They helped a woman who arrived at Hilton East with only her nightgown, and a grandmother who recently got custody of her three-year-old granddaughter and had only one set of clothing. They put together several bags of clothing for families impacted by an apartment fire in Friendship, NY (Alleghany County), and another several bags for the homeless who lost their clothing and belongings when their “settlement” was closed down shortly before Christmas. They were also able to provide extra clothing for a Greece daycare for children who are potty training.
The HCC’s most recent excitement involved having its sorting area painted by Whitney Painting and Remodeling during the week of January 6. “We are very grateful to them for their donation of labor and to Sherwin Williams for discounted costs for the paint. They did an amazing job with a focus on prep, work and clean up – and the new color will make it so much easier for us to inspect our donations,” said Jayne Gerega with the HCC.
Community members are invited to stop by and check out the Hilton Clothing Closet. While they appreciate donations being dropped off during their “open” hours, clean and usable clothing can be left during other times at the side door. There is a sign on the door indicating where to leave them. (Please be mindful of the weather and place donations in waterproof bags.)
Those with any special requests for clothing may email Hilton.Clothing.Closet@gmail.com.
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