Del Mead, president of the Renton Clothes Bank, calls it her “Little Shop of Miracles,” because of the people who have come through for the clothing and the other items she’s able to provide to the community.

She had one more note to add to her list of miracles Thursday afternoon, as the Renton Kiwanis Club stepped in to provide much-needed funding to the Clothes Bank.

Jim Owens, Renton Kiwanis Club president, presented Mead with checks totaling $5,500 at a renaming event. The club has one more installment of $1,000 to give the Clothes Bank. All of the donations will be used to keep the clothing bank open.

And it has a new name – Renton Kiwanis Clothes Bank.

“We were at a funding ebb; we did not get all of our funding from the city this year and that’s our operating fund,” said Mead. “That’s what keeps us going, pays our salaries and our rent, utilities and we only got half of it this year. So this was indeed another miracle for the Clothes Bank and it’s ongoing.”

For now the bank is stable, Mead said, and the worry has lifted. “We still have to have funds for our other projects, but the community is so consistent and caring and concerned,” she said.

It takes about $22,000 to operate the bank annually, said Jon Pozega, who in on the boards of both the Kiwanis Club and the Renton Clothes Bank.

Last year there were almost 7,000 visits to the Clothes Bank and more than half of those were children.

“The Kiwanis Club, our major effort is always aimed toward kids and the community, both of them,” said Owens. “And this deals with both of those, the number of people that the Clothes Bank helps in the community is enormous.”

Owens said the Clothes Bank is not one of those charities that’s at the forefront of everyone’s mind because there are so many important needs out there, but they do important work.

He said the Clothes Bank provide needed clothing for people who can’t even afford discounted clothing.

“And that’s so important especially for children that go to school,” Owens said. “You can just imagine that some of the problems and heartache if kids don’t have some quality clothes to go to school. And this organization helps provide it so they can feel better about themselves and that makes us feel better about ourselves.”

Mayor Denis Law attended the ceremony and said a few words in support of the clothing bank. It was also attended by Clothes Bank staff and directors from each of the boards of the Kiwanis Club and the Clothes Bank.