Men Of Our Community: Non-profit group distributes free clothing in Laplace
Published 6:17 am Tuesday, August 5, 2025
- Shoppers getting free clothes and shoes at the event. Credit:Amos Abba
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With racks of new clothes and a service-oriented goal, members of a non-profit group, Men of Our Community, turned the weekend into a free clothes giveaway for dozens of families in St. John the Baptist Parish.
The pop-up event, which took place at Mathernes Driveway in Laplace, was used to invite residents to shop for free and take as many clothes as they needed.
The clothes giveaway offered free brand-new clothing for women and girls. According to Corey Hutchinson, executive director of Men of Our Community, the event is part of a series of initiatives aimed at giving back to residents of the parish.
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Shawn Williams, a hospital worker, was among those who attended the event. “I thought it was a garage sale,” Williams said. “I didn’t know it was free. My husband called me when he saw it, knowing I liked garage sales.”
Williams wasn’t there to shop for herself. “It’s not for me,” she said. “It’s for some of the patients at the hospital I work at. They come in and don’t have anything.”
Hutchinson said that after the free clothes for young men and boys in January, the group realized organizing a similar event for women was worthwhile. “We do various things for the community, and giveaways like this are a big part of that,” Hutchinson said. “Our group, Men of Our Community, regularly hosts these types of events as a way to give back.”
The clothes for the event were donated by Pastor Elmo Perilloux, who previously received a large inventory from a closing company’s stock. Much of the clothing had tags and was distributed through Perilloux to Hutchinson’s group for this effort.
“This was a blessing,” said Hutchinson. “Pastor Elmo did a girls’ giveaway and donated the rest to us for this one. That’s why we have a lot of brand-new clothes.”
Founded in 2018, the young non-profit organization began by hosting a community movie night at LaPlace Cinema 5 and then expanded by organizing voter registration drives and other civic engagement initiatives.
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The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 slowed the group’s momentum, but Hutchinson is working to rebuild the group’s presence and impact.
“We’re kicking it back off again,” he said. “We’re planning mentorships, job training programs, even trying to get a brick-and-mortar location so we can offer more services, especially for boys without fathers, or men who need job skills. A lot of the crime we see is rooted in unemployment and a lack of direction.”
The organization is currently working on launching a website to make it easier for people to learn more and get involved.
“In April, we hosted autism week giveaways, where we handed out nearly 500 slices of pizza, held clean-up days and voter registration drives,” Hutchinson added. “We’re just getting started again.”
As for what’s next, he says: “It’s going to get bigger and better. We’re back and we’re here to serve.”