A program maintained by Grace United Methodist Church in Marquette is doing a lot to help people struggling financially.

It’s called the Free Store and it is exactly what its name implies: It provides goods to people having a hard time to make ends meet.

“Every person living in this country should be able to brush their teeth, take a bath, wash their hair, have deodorant,” founding board member Carolyn Anderson said in a front page story Monday penned by Mining Journal Staff Writer Mary Wardell. “Because if you look better (and) you smell better, your self-esteem is gonna rise too.”

Wardell wrote the store is open from 1 to 4 p.m. the second and fourth Wednesday of every month, and, starting Feb. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. the first Monday of every month. The church is located at 927 W. Fair Ave.

The store’s mission statement is “to provide free essential items to families who have difficulty meeting daily needs, without regard to income, circumstance, church affiliation or place of residence.”

There are more than 300 family units signed up as members of the Free Store with an average of 20 units visiting each time and more members signing up each month, Anderson said. Households contain anywhere from two to 10 people, she added.

The concept, which has worked in other locations, is working here, providing a valuable service to people and families in need.

We salute Grace United Methodist Church and the work it is doing with this necessary program.