This past weekend, the Living Hope Lighthouse Church in Palmerton held a clothing drive for members of the public in need of clothing or personal care items.

Initially, community member Maria Martinez organized the clothing drive to benefit recent victims of the local fires in Bowmanstown and Palmerton. Upon receiving an overwhelming amount of donations from the community though, the clothing drive was opened to others in need in the local community as well.

Martinez noted that the massive amount of donations were only collected within a few days of her announcing the event.

“I put a post on Facebook and put it out there to the public saying ‘I’ll do porch pickups, let’s get some clothes together’ and this is what came out of it. I was doing porch pickups Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after I was done with work and then people also just dropped stuff off at the church as well. It was all in a matter of three days, it was crazy.”

Debra Brittingham, the marketing team leader of the church, estimated that over 300 bags of donations were gathered for the event including not just clothing, but shoes, purses, blankets, brand-new personal care items and cleaning products.

“That’s why we opened this up to the community today, so that other people could be blessed by this outpouring of giving,” said Brittingham.

Martinez explained her gratitude toward those who contributed to the event, noting the strength and closeness of the Palmerton community.

“It’s really great. I wasn’t originally from Palmerton, but being here now for a while I’ve realized how great it is being here. It’s amazing to see the community come together, it makes you not want to leave, you know? This is a place where you come and you don’t leave because you find family that you never knew you had here,” Martinez said.

Katie Haupt, one of the victims of the fire, noted that the clothing drive helped her obtain items such as blankets and cleaning supplies as well as items she didn’t think about needing at first such as Band-Aids, laundry detergent and scissors.

“To be honest, it was very overwhelming but in a good way,” Haupt said of the community support. “Monday night we spent hours going through donated items that were dropped off where my parents stayed for the first night. I feel so humbled because usually my family is on the other end, helping in times of need for others and it almost feels wrong to be on the other end but I am so blessed to have such a tightly knit community that rallies around people in tragic situations like this.

“Although we all lost everything, I speak for everyone when I say our hearts are full from the unbreakable support of this community. I am proud to be a part of this astounding town. It has made me so emotional because people I don’t even know have reached out to us and offered us meals, a room to have until we get back on our feet, clothes, cat supplies, etc. It’s a blessing,” said Haupt.

Haupt also noted that the Red Cross and local businesses around the Palmerton area have been incredibly helpful throughout everything. Meraki Hair Studio donated hair supplies to Haupt, Papa Al’s donated pizzas to victims and firefighters the night of the fire and Bert’s Steakhouse had offered victims free meals for a week following the fire.

“The local businesses have been so courteous and helpful to us in a time of need. The first few nights were devastating for me. I had a really hard time coping with the fact that I lost absolutely everything that Josh (Haupt’s boyfriend) and I worked so hard to obtain and build. This was our first home together and we were finally making it feel like home too, when it all came crashing down,” she said.

“Thank you to my church Living Hope Lighthouse for organizing the clothing drive and to Debra Brittingham, Maria Martinez and Courtney Hillegass for everything they have done with this clothing drive and helping us in general. Again I am so blessed to be a part of this wonderful and strong community. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

Haupt extended her thanks to neighbors, workers at the Palmerton Hungarian Club, Austyn and Stephanie White, the Palmerton Cat Project, V’s Grooming, the firefighters who worked countless hours to extinguish the fire, and her 15-year-old brother, Aidan Haupt, who found the fire and helped to get people out.

She said, “If it weren’t for him, who knows what would have happened. He is my hero.”

Following the clothing drive, community member Cheryl Haas explained that there is a plan to store surplus donations in a storage unit for future victims of catastrophes such as fires and floods. As of now, she believes the donations will go toward people in need in Carbon, Monroe, Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Being a victim of a house fire 21 years ago, Haas said she knows what the families are going through at the moment and that more help will be needed in the months to come.

“Please know that the families are very appreciative and they will need more in the future. It’s not just this week or even this month. There’s lots of winter clothes here, but you also have to remember that in a few months it’s summer and people will need shorts and T-shirts and sandals, and by that time, not that people forget, but they’ve moved on with their lives and they don’t really think about your needs as a fire victim,” Haas said.

By establishing a storage unit of donated items, there will be a secure place for a variety of resources so that even as time passes, victims have access to previous donations they may not have realized they needed before.

To help donate to victims of the Palmerton fire, visit the following GoFundMe links: www.gofundme.com/f/josh-katie-apartment-fire, www.gofundme.com/f/help-aidan-haupt-and-family, www.gofundme.com/f/gloria-deluna-lost-everything-in-a-house-fire.