The Sebago Warming Hut program took another step forward on January 26 when the new Sebago Clothes Closet opened in temporary quarters at the Sebago Church of the Nazarene. The Clothes Closet is part of the community-wide effort to renovate an old portable classroom from Sebago Elementary School into a new and expanded Sebago Food Pantry and other services including a hot lunch and warm refuge program. The Warming Hut program is intended to serve Sebago’s seniors, those with special needs, and anyone in the area who is feeling
the pinch of these tough economic times
Last year the Maine School Administrative District 61 (MSAD61) declared surplus a 24’ x 35’ portable classroom at the Sebago Elementary School and offered it to the Town of Sebago. The Town accepted it, voted to lease it back to the Sebago Warming Hut program for $1.00 a year, and advanced the funds needed to move it. On October 20 the building was moved from the school grounds to its new home at the Church of the Nazarene on Route 114. Since then volunteers under the direction of Jim Libby have been hard at work renovating the building, with the goal of having everything ready this spring.
A Community Development Block Grant for $36,575 won by the town has made the project possible. Together with $8,500 from the town and $6,800 from in-kind donations of labor and material from contractors in the community, a total of $51,875 was raised. These funds are paying for all the interior renovations, a new roof, water well and septic system, as well as equipment necessary for the Food Pantry and Clothes Closet to operate.
Clothes Closet
We have had a particularly cold and hard Maine winter so far, and there are many in our community who could use a warm coat. Rather than wait for the spring when the Warming Hut will be ready, the Warming Hut Committee decided to start the Clothes Closet now, where donated clothing of good quality would be available at no cost to those who could use it. The Church of the Nazarene generously donated the use of their basement as a temporary home for the Clothes Closet, and several racks of coats and other clothes are now ready for the public to visit.
Sebago’s new Clothes Closet opened on January 26,
thanks in large part to the efforts of the Sebago Warming Hut
committee. Shown here are three key members of the committee
(l-r) Pastor Jim Ledoux, Rev Karen Moore, Jim Libby.
Important Dates
The Sebago Clothes Closet will be open on every Tuesday from 9:00 until 11:45 a.m. at the Sebago Church of the Nazarene, 179 Sebago Road, East Sebago. Come to the front door and go downstairs to the basement. Everyone is welcome and there is no charge for any of the clothes there.
Other days of interest include the Sebago Food Pantry, which is open on the 4th Tuesday of every month from 9:00 until 11:00 a.m. at the Sebago Town Hall up in Mud City, and the Sebago Senior’s Luncheon served every Tuesday at noon at the Sebago Church of the Nazarene in East Sebago. There is no charge for food from the pantry, and the luncheons are free to everyone.
Anyone who wishes to donate clothing to the Clothes Closet should call Corinne AuCoin at (207) 787-2177, and those who would like to donate some time or materials to help in the renovation of the Warming Hut building should call Jim Libby at (207) 787-2747. Volunteers are always welcome. Come and take part in this important community-wide outreach program to help our neighbors and friends!
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