Lewisburg nonprofits launch clothing drive contest to aid local families

Emily Gorski built DIG Furniture Bank after seeing how often families leaving housing programs still lacked basics like pots, pans and bedding. That same need is behind a clothing drive contest DIG is launching with Union-Snyder Community Action Agency, with donations for CommunityAid set for Saturday, April 25, from 9 a.m. to noon in the Big Lots parking lot in Lewisburg.

Organizers are asking residents to bring gently used clothing, shoes and small household items, goods that can go directly back into local homes instead of sitting in storage. DIG, which is based in Milton and serves families across central Pennsylvania, says its mission is to restore dignity and promote stability by redirecting gently used furniture and household items to local families in need at no cost. CommunityAid says it keeps donations local to benefit neighbors and accepts gently used clothing and goods, making it a natural partner for a drive built around usable items.

The effort also links together two familiar names in the Union County anti-poverty network. Union-Snyder Community Action Agency, a member of the Community Action Partnership, lists its Lewisburg location at The Miller Center for Recreation & Wellness, 120 Hardwood Drive. That local footprint matters because families who turn to the agency for help with housing, food and other basic needs are the same households likely to benefit when donated items are sorted and redistributed through CommunityAid.

Gorski said she started DIG after seeing the same shortages again and again while working at Union-Snyder Community Action Agency. "We were often scrambling to find pots and pans and bedding," she said. DIG says it has now served 1,000 families since opening in 2020, a sign that the need she spotted years ago has only deepened. The April 25 drive will turn that need into a one-day local push for Union and Snyder County families, with Lewisburg residents able to drop off items and keep the impact close to home.