Haiti clothing drive in the works

Friday, January 22, 2010

HOLLIS – A town resident with ties to Haiti is spearheading a clothing drive here and in neighboring Brookline, and hopes to extend her reach to include communities in Greater Nashua and beyond.

Tanya Tenkarian, the mother of four young children, said she began by contacting about 10 friends, asking them to look in their closets for shirts and other lightweight clothing they were willing to donate. Tenkarian also contacted the Haitian Community Center in Manchester, where a clothing drive is already underway.

And she found a national trucking company willing to transport donated items, if she can fill an entire truck.

Tenkarian said she was eager to “get the word out” as soon as possible, although it may take a week to mobilize the effort.

“When the disaster of last Tuesday occurred, the world watched horrified, as did we. What we saw was extra terrible because to us, the country was a familial extension of our dear friend and his family,” Tenkarian wrote in an e-mail.

Meanwhile, she is setting up a Web site and urging community members to call her at 465-7888 or drop off donations at her home, 18 Alsun Drive.

– Hattie Bernstein