Belle Vernon charity met by record crowd for restart

By CHRISTINE HAINES

chaines@yourmvi.com

After a three-month hiatus, Little Things for Little People made a comeback Monday in Belle Vernon, handing out bags of clothing, diapers and toiletries for a record-setting 61 children.

The program sponsored by the Belle Vernon Ministerium had to cancel its monthly distributions in March, April and May due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coordinator Laura Wilson said that while the number of participants has grown in the past year from about eight per month to more than 30, the large swell in numbers Monday was most likely due to the three-month closure. 

“Normally we meet the fourth Thursday of the month, but we’re doing a drive-through distribution today because of COVID-19,” Wilson said. “Our room isn’t so small, but we could probably only fit four volunteers with no room for the people.”

Monday’s event ran from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot behind St. Sebastian Church in Belle Vernon. The volunteers had bags of items organized for each recipient with additional large items such as car seats, baby baths and bouncers available for those who needed them.

“I posted a picture of the bigger items that we had and said if you had a need to come look at them and take what you need,” Wilson said.

The program serves families with children up to age 3 and pre-registration is required. Appointments are also required for pick-up so recipients don’t all show up at the same time.

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