Once again this year, if you’re going along Main Street in Danville across from the Palmer Arena, and you pass by Education Personnel Federal Credit Union at 101 West Main, you’ll see the black rail fence with a sign letting you know it’s THE GIVING FENCE. This is where you can donate clean, gently used winter gear and coats, to be picked up by those who need them. This project was started a few years back by the Danville Area Chapter of Credit Unions. Hope Garrett from the Education Personnel Federal Credit Union says, they had heard about a good idea, and wanted to try it.
AUDIO: Credit unions are chartered with building up our communities, so we’re not-for-profit financial cooperatives. And we look for projects and ways that we can help the community and build it up. Somebody had seen this. I believe it was an organization over in Bloomington. And one of my staff at the time saw it and said “we could do that here.” We had just aquired the drive-thru facility down at 101 West Main, and that fence was sort of the perfect location for it.
Your best bet is to drop the coats and winter gear off at the main branch of the Education Personnel Federal Credit Union at 1102 North Walnut, or call the Main Street Branch at 217-446-0777 and let them know you have some you’d like to drop off, please call ahead if you can because the lobby of that branch is closed. Or, ask your credit union if they are collecting them. Remember, hangers can be donated as well. You can also stop by the fence, use one of the hangers already there, and hang up what you’re donating. As the sign says, give what you can, take what you need.
Just a reminder that you can keep donating to THE GIVING FENCE well after Thanksgiving. Garrett says they usually start it up with the arrival of cold weather in November, and keep it going through the winter months.
