Free
Penn Hills
Store
’
Fills Need
Store helps people find the necessities of life. BY PAUL GLASSER
The motto of the Free Store Penn Hills is“ Love your neighbor.” The store, which opened for business in November 2016, provides donated items— including clothes, books, toys, toiletries and diapers— to customers at no charge. Similar efforts in Braddock and Wilkinsburg inspired co-founder Heather Hopson, Tamara Cox, Janica Estes, Deborah McKenzie and Fawn Washington to make a difference in Penn Hills.
“ The community has really rallied around this idea of mutual aid. It makes us remember the Golden Rule: to treat others how we would want to be treated,” says Hopson.“ We were very strategic in planning our grand opening. We wanted to meet the needs of our community as people celebrated the holiday season— a time of joy. We didn’ t want it to be a time of stress.”
The free store is located at the Lincoln Park Community Center and is open Mondays and Saturdays from 10 a. m. to 2 p. m. The store has exceeded expectations, and about 30 to 50 customers visit each week. Families from many backgrounds have come to rely on the free store.“ Middle class families also live paycheck-to-paycheck and need
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