BLESSINGS FROM THE BASEMENT

GFWC Woman’s Club of Fairmont (West Virginia) had a busy year working on their Blessings from the Basement project. Club Vice President Marcella Yaremchuk said this project was started about five years ago when she worked to clean out the basement of the clubhouse so members would have a place to store donations that could go to homeless shelters.

The project has grown and Blessings from the Basement now helps many people in need in the area. Clubwomen work with facilities that help those with addiction, veterans’ agencies, domestic violence shelters, hospitals, and more. Marcella said these agencies will refer people in need to the club, and they will help in any way they can. The club has donated items such as furniture, linens, household goods, pots and pans, boxes of food, and more.

In 2020, Marcella said the club was able to help about 125 people through their donation project, and have offered assistance to more than 140 people in 2021 already.

She said the members are always happy to help whoever they can in the community, regardless of their circumstances, and hope to encourage others to give back if they can as well.

“People will help people if they know there is a need and we have been making a lot of progress in making the need known,” Marcella said.