Laurie Varelas, owner of The Good Table, and waitress Tammy Weidhaas display a box of items collected for The Samaritan Inn. (Photo by Hope E. Tremblay)
WESTFIELD – The Good Table at 12 School St. is currently conducting a collection of personal care items for guests of The Samaritan Inn homeless shelter, according to owner Laurie Varelas.
Varelas said they are looking for soaps, gloves, hats, mittens, toothbrushes, razors, among other items. She said they have already dropped off one box, and a second box is nearly full.
“The customers have been very generous,” Varelas said.
The popular breakfast and lunch spot is open daily from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Varelas said Dec. 2 the day had started off slowly as people were shoveling out, but it was starting to pick up by 10 a.m. She said they will continue the collection for another week or two, as long as items are still coming in.
This is the first time that The Good Table has undertaken the collection. Varelas credits a new employee, Tammy Weidhaas, whom she called a great humanitarian, for the idea. She said they are already thinking about their next project for the animal shelters.
“Anything to help out our community,” Varelas said. “Every little bit helps.”
