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Photos by Rod Jones
Several volunteers helped set up the Collective THREADS event Saturday inside Convergence Collective in the Plaza District.
 

By Rod Jones

A new community outreach center in the Plaza District has been bustling with activity since it opened, and Saturday afternoon was no exception.

The same group that runs the upstart and hip church Fusion held its second THREADS event, which organizers say is a way to not only help nearby residents with their clothing needs, but also a way to get to know its neighbors.
“We don’t see ourselves as givers,” said Daran Freund, who helps his wife, Rachelle, organize the event. “We receive from them by getting to know them.”
Freund explained how the Convergence Collective organization puts the THREADS event together. The church collects clothing from its members and outside sources. The clothing, which is primarily children’s clothing, is neatly folded and placed on tables according to size.
Economically challenged families are invited to “shop” the THREADS store and gather clothing free of charge. Volunteers help their “customers” find what they need as they get to know each other. Each family may select up to eight items per child, Freund said.
“We wanted to do something like a typical ‘clothing closet’ idea, but do it in a unique way,” he said.
Besides the Convergence Collective, volunteers for Saturday’s event also came from the Deer Creek school Key Club and Southern Nazarene University.
Freund said the Convergence is working on doing a similar format for winter coats, and has even come up with the catchy title “Cold is Hell.” And if its anywhere near as popular as the spring THREADS event, which served 45 families, the Convergence Collective is going to need a lot of coats.
View a video about THREADS on the organization’s Web site at www.convergenceokc.org.

Kara Wynn sketches a chalkboard sign advertising THREADS Saturday in the Plaza District while Andie Baird, 9, watches.