The Caring Closet

What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us: what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.

~Albert Pike

A while back I mentioned that I was in the process of starting an organization to help clothe the underprivileged children of the Hamilton City School District. With the help of some wonderful and amazing friends, (Mary, Joni, Gail, Sarah, Sharon, Dr. Cobb) we are seeing wishful thinking come to fruition.

I want to take time here to explain what The Caring Closet is all about. A few months ago I met a lovely woman and her mother that were working to collect gently used clothing for deserving families, particularly for school aged children in another school district. The more I talked with them, and some teacher friends, the more I found out about the need (or hidden poverty as my friend Mary termed it) that existed in all the schools in our own school district.

Our goal is to collect gently used clothing and package it along with new socks, underwear and a book for children who are referred to us through school principals, teachers, and counselors. We are also hoping that through donations we can provide basic toiletry items such as toothpaste and toothbrushes. We are committed to making this a "faceless" operation. We will not have any contact with the children or their families, all boxes will be delivered to the schools to be distributed. Our hope is that the recipients and their families maintain a sense of dignity and self-respect. Everything will be completely confidential and we, as an organization will never know names, only boy or girl, age and size.

Initially this nonprofit operation will be housed in my basement. My hope is that someday it outgrows me and there will be others who open their space to become part of the closet. For now, we need volunteers and donations. There are a multitude of things you can do to help; pick up and delivery clothing, do a load of laundry, watch for sales, (my friend Gail just bought 10 brand new polo shirts and 10 pair of khaki shorts for $20.) Donate items; gently used clothing appropriate for school wear, new socks, underwear, toothbrushes, toothpaste, washcloth and towels, books for all ages, laundry detergent, softener, hangers, totes.

We will be holding a meeting for anyone interested in helping in the Community Room at Hamilton High School, I should have a definite date in the next few days and will post it on here and Facebook. By the way, we do have a Facebook page (The Caring Closet)under construction, please visit it and tell your friends, we need everyone we can get to make this successful. We will also be having a couple fun filled fundraisers this summer, come to the meeting to hear about those!

If you have any questions or would like to get involved, please contact me at 513-368-9678 or email me at cmcrowthers@gmail.com