WELLFLEET — The local source of free clothes is available again. Mass Appeal reopened on July 14 after months of being closed because of the coronavirus.
Mass Appeal’s hours are reduced, with shopping on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Shoppers must follow rules to minimize potential exposure to the virus. These include limiting shopping to four customers at a time. Each shopper (one per family) will have 20 minutes to make selections. Everyone must wear a face mask, according to an announcement from Rebecca Holmes, the executive director.
There will be hand sanitizer and six-foot distancing requirements.
For those bringing in donations of clothes, a volunteer will be there to accept them in the back hall. Donations will be accepted every day except Sunday, regardless of whether the shop is open to the public or not.
On the days when Mass Appeal is not open to the public, volunteers will be sorting and hanging clothes. They will also do major cleaning. The “share shop” will be cleaned on a daily basis with disinfecting cloths.
Mass Appeal opened at its current location at Cove Corners on Route 6 behind Dunkin Donuts in 1996. In November, the landlord, J. Bruce MacGregor, alerted the nonprofit that it would have to vacate by Jan. 31. But then attorney Bruce Bierhans negotiated a stay for an undisclosed amount of time. MacGregor has not said why he wanted to evict Mass Appeal or what he plans to do with the property. —K.C. Myers
