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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