SULTAN – Several black garbage bags sat in the parking lot of the Sultan United Methodist Church last week.
They were full of wet shoes, clothes, diapers, toys, stuffed animals and other items. People had given all these things to a donation center in the basement of the church.
“Look at those things that could’ve helped people,” said Eula Schwartz, director of the donation center Tabitha’s House.
The church’s basement flooded Nov. 6, as the water shut down streets, businesses and town hall. The floodwaters also brought sewage from a nearby city plant to the basement, Schwartz, 74, said.
Schwartz rolled up her blue jeans and waded through the water to save donated items, she said. But she could salvage little.
“It’s my church. This may sound corny, but I think God put me here to do it,” she said.
The water receded from the basement, but the center lost most of the donated clothing, Schwartz said.
“This is the time we needed (it) most,” Schwartz said.
She said she can’t estimate the overall damage due to flooding.
Church volunteers have cleaned up and sanitized the basement, but mold keeps growing through cracks in the concrete floor, Terri Pocorus, a volunteer, said.
Pocorus said she doesn’t know when the center will reopen.
“I feel really bad because we can’t help (the needy),” said Pocorus, of Gold Bar.
Before the center can start taking donations, volunteers have to clean up the mess.
Snohomish County didn’t issue the church vouchers for free pickup of ruined items because the center is registered as a business, Schwartz said.
“I can’t understand it,” Pocorus said. “I don’t think church is a business. We are here to help people.”
Up to 30 people come to the church Sundays, and most of them are elderly, Schwartz said.
Volunteers from local Methodist churches arrived around noon Thursday to help to clean up the basement and haul away soaked stuff in garbage bags.
“I think it’s a tremendous loss to the community,” said Mark Johnson, pastor of the Monroe United Methodist Church. “All of these things were meant to be given to those in need and now will be thrown out.”
Local Methodist churches plan to chip in money to cover the cleanup cost, said Mark Williams, pastor of the Snohomish United Methodist Church.
“It’s got to be done anyway,” he said. “We will just do it.”
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
Help clean up
To help with the cleanup of the Sultan Methodist Church’s basement donation center, call 360-793-1727.
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