PORT TOWNSEND — When volunteers come to work at Working Image clothing bank, they either go into one room and sort donations or help clients choose outfits in the other.
Now, they’ll no longer have to tell each other they’ll be in “the other room.”
They’ll be in the Sherry Grover Room or the Arlene Burns Room.
On Tuesday, Zoe Ann Dudley, chairwoman, dedicated two rooms of the clothing bank, located at Mountain View Commons, in memory of volunteers who always believed in its success.
“We are a work of passion,” Dudley said. “We are dedicating two rooms to women who had a huge love for what we do.”
Working Image was founded 13 years ago by Anne Schneider and Ruth Merryman to provide professional clothing, free of charge, to women entering or re-entering the workforce.
Originally located at the Skookum Building, it moved to the Olympic Community Action Programs building, then to Mountain View.
Sorting room
On Tuesday, the sorting room was dedicated to Sherry Grover, who obtained many of the clothes racks when Working Image first started.
“She loved the idea from the start and worked to make happen,” Dudley said.
In addition to sorting clothes, Grover organized thrift-store shopping trips with friends to Bremerton to fill in sections of needed clothing, Dudley said.
She also suggested and coordinated consignment sales, which helped cover rent and other expenses.
“Sherry was a very organized person,” said artist Max Grover, her husband. “Finding proper clothing and its proper place was her niche in this organization.”
Sherry Grover was general manager of the Port Townsend Film Festival, an arts adviser and gallery manager. She died after battling cancer Dec. 12, 2009, at the age of 59.
Arlene Burns
Arlene and Bob Burns gave the bank a huge boost by conducting two clothing drives in Port Ludlow and donating everything to Working Image, Dudley said.
They both attended board meetings, she said, and were asked to join the board.
Arlene Burns, who had multiple sclerosis, was in a wheelchair but had a passion that enthused the group, Dudley said.
The oldest of five daughters, Arlene grew up working on the family farm in the Oklahoma panhandle, Bob Burns said.
“She wasn’t raised in a very beautiful place, but she brought beauty into our lives,” he said. “She was a very fashionable person.”
Arlene Burns, who was a medical technologist, died Aug. 25, 2009, at the age of 62.
“The determination we felt from both these women, even when they knew they were coming to the end of their lives, did not waver,” Dudley said.
Plaques dedicating the rooms to the two women will be placed on the walls.
Max Grover said his wife enjoyed working at the clothing bank and always had a smile on her face when she went there.
The plaque with her photo on it shows her smiling.
“Sherry is very pleased with this honor,” Max said.
Working Image has expanded its mission beyond professional attire for women and accepts men’s coats and clothing to distribute at the Port Townsend Food Bank.
The clothing bank also collects maternity clothes and clothes for homeless youths.
Donations are accepted at Mountain View Commons, 1925 Blaine St., Port Townsend.
Consultations for professional clothing are by appointment and require a referral from a job placement service, business or other source.
For more information, visit www.WorkingImage.org, email workingimagept@yahoo.com or phone 360-385-0300.
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Jennifer Jackson is a freelance writer and photographer living in Port Townsend.
