Out with the old

Welcome back to another Spotlight Series with Sarah!
The series where the writer gets to know the city more personally, while the readers get to know the writer better in the process.
Ever since I started my column in March 2024, I’ve been writing about services I’ve received in the City of Wayne. However, this edition is going to be a little different. I want to shine a spotlight on services I (and you) can provide to the city.
If you’re like me, every year or two I like to go through my belongings and get rid of items I no longer need/use. Whether it be clothing, shoes, bags, coats, hats, books, doesn’t matter. I like to donate things I haven’t touched in months to minimize the clutter in my space and home.
So around mid-August 2025 I started going through my clothes and created donation bags for all the clothes I no longer wanted to keep. Then I went through my shoes, my bags/purses, my hats, my coats, and so on.
I ended up with five trash bags of clothing, one trash bag of shoes, one Kroger bag of books, a box of miscellaneous items, including: purses, bags, a backpack, bath bombs, a jar, school supplies, and organizer trays, and lastly, a zip lock bag of old prescription glasses and a zip lock bag of old cellphones that I wanted to donate.
On Friday, January 2nd, I labeled all the bags with their drop-off destination, loaded them into the trunk of my car, and began my donation drop-off adventure in Wayne.
My first donation stop on Friday was STEP Thrift Store and Donation Center. I donated two bags of clothes and one bag of books. An employee met me at the back door and took my donations inside and placed them in their appropriate donations bin.

You can donate your old cell phones at the UAW Local 900.

Services To Enhance Potential (STEP) is a non-profit organization which provides support and services to nearly 1,300 persons with disabilities and other mental health needs in Wayne County.
About 70% of the staff at STEP Thrift Store have disabilities.
STEP Thrift Store has a color tag of the week that is 50% off Monday – Saturday. If you find an item with that specific color tag on Sunday, that item is 99 cents. The color changes every Monday.
STEP Thrift Store also offers a VIP program that you can join to earn 5% off every time you shop. You just need to share your name, phone number, and email address, and you will receive coupons via email throughout the year for your birthday and flash sales.
If you’d like to donate any item, you can drop it off any day of the week. Simply bring your donations in at least 30 minutes before closing.
STEP Thrift Store and Donation Center is located at 35004 W Michigan Ave, and is open 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday – Saturday, and 12 – 5 p.m. on Sunday.
For more information about STEP Thrift Store and Donation Center, visit stepcentral.org or call (734)728-9777.
My second donation stop on Friday was Lighthouse Home Mission (LHM). I donated two bags of clothes (including: two coats, socks, winter hats, baseball hats, swimsuits), one bag of shoes, and some hygiene products. I also bought some paper towels, paper plates, and plastic cutlery for the warming center.
I knocked on the warming center’s door after 7 p.m. and the volunteers took my donations.
In partnership with the Full Gospel Temple Church, LHM has a food pantry, clothing pantry, soup kitchen, and warming center. LHM offers assistance for mental illness, recovery programs, domestic violence, obtaining IDs and birth certificates, employment opportunities, and more.
If you’d like to help, the warming center needs the following items: winter apparel (coats, gloves, boots, socks), men’s underwear, hygienic items, cleaning supplies, coffee, canned goods, paper plates, and plastic utensils. There is a large need for men’s winter coats size XL-5XL.
LHM is in need of volunteers for the soup kitchen, clothing pantry, food pantry, and warming center.
LHM also does a yard sale twice a year (in April and September). They are in need of items to be donated, volunteers for donation pickups, and volunteers during the yard sale.
If you’re interested in volunteering for the warming shelter, call Rev. Tim Cokely at (734)326-3333. If you’re interested in any of the other volunteer opportunities with LHM, call (734)326-3885.
Lighthouse Home Mission and Full Gospel Temple Church is located at 34033 Palmer Rd, Westland. For more information about Full Gospel Temple Church, visit fgtonline.org.

Donations loaded up in car.

My third donation stop on Monday, January 5th, during my lunch break was St. Mary Community Outreach Center. I donated one bag of clothes and one box of items such as: purses, bags, a backpack, bath bombs, a jar, school supplies, and organizer trays.
I brought my donations inside the Outreach Center and left them by the back wall.
The St. Mary Community Outreach Center consists of the Open Closet Clothing Bank and the Food Depot.
The Open Closet Clothing Bank is open 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. There is a $2 entrance fee to get in and then you can pick clothing/items you want.
Clients have 20 minutes to shop the racks. They have options from clothing, shoes, bedding, small household items, kitchen appliances, kids’ toys, car seats, luggage, etc. It all depends on what items people have donated.
The Food Depot is open 9 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Monday – Friday, where people can receive a basket of food.
Those in need can call to make an appointment, or brand new families/individuals can just show up so they can get put into the system. Adult ID is now required for everyone.
If you’d like to help, the Outreach Center accepts the following items: clothing, small household items, and food that is not open or expired.
St. Mary Parish is located at 34530 W Michigan Ave. The St. Mary Community Outreach Center is located at 34646 Sims St.
You can drop off clothing donations in the parking lot off Sims St. during the clothing bank hours, and you can drop off food donations to the parking lot off 2nd St.