West Side Boutique & Salon has been ramping up its operations and returning to normal over the summer, Coordinator Nancy Robert reported.

The boutique is open Mondays around the same time as the soup kitchen, providing clothing, toiletries and other items to the homeless and other people in need. Volunteers also make some items available during other days of the week. “Currently,17 boutique volunteers work ‘behind the scene’ helping many within our community and surrounding areas,” she said.

Boutique volunteers assisted 319 people during May, June and July, Nancy noted. This included 212 adults, 97 senior citizens, and 10 children. Also, a hair stylist volunteer, Linda Perryman from Hair Solutions in Yorkville, provided a total of 34 haircuts to men, women and children.

Health Screenings

With retired nurse practitioner and volunteer Phyllis Grillo serving as coordinator, the Boutique was able to resume health screenings in June with the help of a team from Mohawk Valley Health Systems. Blood pressure monitoring and health information were provided to 25 soup kitchen patrons (9 in June and 16 in July).

Bombas Socks

Nancy also reported receiving “a third grant allocation of 3,000 pairs of socks” from Bombas Socks. “This is a wonderful donation from a charity-conscious company,” she said. “We have received 8,000 pairs of socks over the past three years. As a result, we have been able to provide warm, dry socks to many in need, including people living on the streets, and we have been able to work with other non-profit agencies to reach others in need.”

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