For two days this week the retreat room at St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in New York is a happy mess, as neighbors bring in their gently-used clothing, toys, and housewares. Tomorrow we will take all the donations down to the Armory, where they will become part of the merchandise at the Uptown Wagon FreeStore.
The FreeStore is an event that is entirely run by volunteers. The concept is “give what you can, take what you need.” There is no charge for anything. Many of the ‘shoppers’ are new immigrants or people on minimal incomes. The layout is carefully set up to look like an actual store, where customers are treated with respect.
This is the third time the Shrine has acted as a drop-off point for donations for the FreeStore. Making it easy for our neighbors to give to others is, we think, part of being a good neighbor ourselves.