Plymouth Area Community Closet

The Plymouth Area Community Closet was originally established by Eulalia "Lila" Wescott in 1951 on a cold winter day when a family from Virginia was visiting next door to her family farm in Ashland and was stranded by an early winter storm with a one-month old baby placed in a cardboard box next to the wood stove to keep warm. Lila brought them warm clothes and a neighbor brought in firewood for their stove. Her vision was to help people in need and she went see Rev Deane Hodges to ask if she could have the use of a closet in the Plymouth Congregational Church as she needed a space badly. Along with her companion Lois Reed, she was given access to a basement closet and that is how we began. Because of the compassion of one women and her vision to help others, the Closet engaged other local churches to join together. The Community Closet began by distributing clothing and food to families unable to provide for themselves, people who suffered from devastating fires, people out of work, or other personal tragedies. In 1985 100 Christmas holiday baskets went out to families who would have had no Thanksgiving meal. Today the Community Closet has outgrown the basement closet and is now centrally located at 5 South Main Street in Plymouth serving over a thousand individuals each year. Our projects are funded locally for the purpose of assisting those in financial need by providing emergency funds, food, clothing and support. PACC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization which is supported through donations and the proceeds from our Thrift Shop.