MANVILLE: Final push to reach clothing drive goal

By Eileen Oldfield, Staff Writer
   With what Carolyn Rogus describes as a huge pile of bagged clothing donations at the high school, it’s no wonder the Manville Education Association is only $150 from a $10,000 in total funds raised from the association’s ongoing collections.
   ”This year we’ll hit the $10,000 mark,” Ms. Rogus, a library clerk at Alexander Batcho Intermediate School, said. “I only need $150 more to hit the $10,000 mark.”
   ”I have a whole pile of bags,” she added. “It looks like a mountain.”
   The MEA holds its clothing drive twice a year, including one from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in the Manville High School parking lot on North Ninth Avenue and Brooks Boulevard. Typically, the drives net between $700 and $1,000 total, Ms. Rogus said.
   Acceptable donations include clean, usable clothing, shoes, belts, handbags, linens, stuffed animals, and baby gear, including playpens, strollers, high chairs, and car seats. All clothing donated at the event must be in tightly tied plastic bags.
   The Fashion Republic Inc., of Cranford, pays the MEA about 10 cents per pound on donated items, and ships the donations to Poland, the Republic of Georgia, Ghana, Liberia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, and India, where it is sold at local markets and in thrift stores, the company’s Web site said. Money received from the company funds two $500 scholarships for graduating seniors, Ms. Rogus said.