Church member and former President Caroline Koster and her son Winn served hot soup, coffee, fruit and sweets to the migrants, some of whom had arrived early and waited outside for hours. 

One mother wore only a small denim skirt, leaving her legs bare, Koster told the Eagle. “I was so thrilled to offer her soup and later, to watch our shoppers help her select warm pants and sweaters for her own wardrobe, and clean layers and diapers for her children.” 

It was the second giveaway that the church hosted this winter, Koster said, estimating that roughly 150-175 migrants were served in Sunday’s event. 

Donations came in from all over — Plymouth’s church membership and preschool families, from the grassroots organization Team TLC NYC, and residents of neighborhoods from Vinegar Hill to Gowanus. Spread Love Brooklyn and various mutual aid societies sent clothing and volunteers. 

Koster thanked the 84th Precinct “who assisted, compassionately, with crowd control, offered suggestions on managing our line and provided community outreach.”

Most who came to the first giveaway were single men because of harsh weather, Koster said. “This week’s giveaway was still over 50% single men, but a much larger portion was distributed directly to women and children. 

“Warm clothing, soup and compassion——things that are so simple and yet mean so much. That’s how we worship God and why this church is here,” she said. 

“It’s a real community effort, honestly,” said Rev. Lesley-Ann Hix Tommey, Plymouth’s assistant minister and the event organizer along with Team TLC NYC. 

“Team TLC NYC has a lot of clothes and they also have networks that bring us volunteers and donations. All this clothing was donated in just one week. It’s amazing,” she said, adding, “We learned a lot from the first time that we did it. We’re way more organized this time.”

Plymouth Church member and attorney Tracey Kitzman runs Team TLC NYC’s legal clinics for immigrants, helping them fill out the complex paperwork needed to apply for asylum. Her son Colin and daughter Edrie volunteered with her at the giveaway on Sunday.

“This giveaway is wonderful, isn’t it?” Kitzman said. She gave a shout out to the Gowanus Mutual Aid and Clinton Hill Mutual Aid societies. “The mutual aid societies were originally started by artists as a bartering system. Now with the migrants in their midst, they’ve really rallied around the shelters.” 

The clothing drive was not just a one-shot event for Plymouth Church volunteers. The following day, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Plymouth members and ministers fanned out to three locations across the city, helping to move recent immigrants, and cooking and serving hot meals to the hungry. 

“We are a community of faith. We believe we are all connected and that we have a responsibility to each other. Even though the migrants are new neighbors of ours, they are still our neighbors,” Rev. Tommey said. “Too many families are wandering the streets in the cold winter months without a coat on. We want to take care of each other.”

If you want to volunteer at future Plymouth events, visit plymouthchurch.org. All are welcome.

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