Imagine being a child and arriving at a new house, with a new family, and only the clothes on your back. As of last year, that was the experience for over 8,300 children in Massachusetts alone. For one Kingston woman, helping children adjust to foster care and ensuring they have adequate clothing and other common childhood belongings has become a life mission.
Sharon Collins became a foster parent after her divorce. With two children of her own, she fostered other children for 9 ½ years and adopted three. Now, as a busy family with five children, Collins and her co-founder and friend, Jeanne Bello, dedicate time and energy to making sure other children in the foster care system do not go without basic needs and comforts.
“I was at a meeting about foster care and I sat next to Jeanne and another woman. We started talking about how foster children often arrive with nothing but the clothes they are wearing and usually those need to be thrown away,” says Collins, “We thought, ‘Why wouldn’t we create a place where they could shop for clothes and other things?’”. After that meeting in 2018, South Shore Foster Closet began to take shape and became a 501c charity.
Once donated clothing started to come in from friends and family, they needed a space to store and sort it. “We started out using basements,” explains Collins, “and then Jeanne got us a space in the Duxbury Baptist Church. We outgrew that space and asked if we could take the abandoned house behind the church. Jeanne’s family has a painting company and they helped us renovate it.” Now, the “Little White House” is full of shelves and shelves of clothing and supplies for foster families. Initially open to the public, Covid changed how they ran the organization.
“During Covid, we had to close to the public, so we had people request things. We put together bags of the items needed and they could pick them up. This ended up working out so well for us that we kept it like this. Our house is not open to the public, but we put orders and bags together to be picked up.”
As far as the items and supplies available from South Shore Foster Closet, they cover many bases and needs. “We provide things like clothing, footwear, underwear, socks, jackets, coats, diapers, toys, backpacks, and holiday items for celebrations,” says Collins. “We are always in need of new underwear, sneakers, toys, and boys and girl’s clothes -especially in sizes 5-12.” Collins assures that gently used items in good condition are accepted but underwear, and most toys and sneakers should be new. “We would accept used things like high-end gaming systems or other high-end toys if they are in good condition as well -we just want to be able to get the kids things they enjoy and need.”
One of the busiest times of the year for South Shore Foster Closet is approaching. The holidays can be difficult to prepare for -especially when caring for children in need. “We gave away 1,500 toys in one night last year to foster families for Christmas,” says Collins, “We have an event where the toys can be picked up in November and that way families can have some great things for the kids on Christmas. We even have an Easter event where we put together Easter baskets for the kids.”
For the most part, Collins and Bello run the South Shore Foster Closet on their own, but volunteers are often needed for their clothing drives and events -the dates and times can be found on their website and Facebook page. One of the biggest challenges they face is space. “We have run out of space again,” says Collins, “We just serviced 143 foster children for back-to-school supplies and it takes up so much room for that many supplies. Things like coats and shoes -it all requires a lot of room.”
Supporting South Shore Foster Closet is easy to do and Collins asks that all items be dropped off at 9 Page Ave. in Kingston -preferably with notice of what you are going to bring. “Anything you want to donate can be bagged up and dropped off on the lawn and we will pick it up and sort through it,” says Collins. In addition to foster children, Collins says that foster families with other children in the household may receive donated items. “Your children can be fostered, adopted, or biological -as long as they are part of a foster care family, we can help you have the clothing and things you need. We also give away groceries on a monthly basis at the same location.”
With so much of our attention going to our own lives and families, sometimes we don’t notice the miraculous and incredible things going on right under our noses. Collins and Bello are working every day to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in our communities and the families caring for them. “We try our best to provide whatever is needed for these kids. We want people to feel supported and heard when working with us and know that they are not on their own in this,” says Collins, “We are blessed to be able to live our passion to help others and provide children with things that comfort and make them happy.”
South Shore Foster Closet is a testament to what can happen when care meets passion. When we look beyond ourselves and our busy lives and see a need, instead of waiting for someone else to fill it, I hope we take initiative and network with others to help in whatever way we can. What more precious need can there be than that of a child?
For more information on South Shore Foster Closet and ways to help please visit:
www.southshorefostercloset.com or email: ssfostercloset@gmail.com
For contact or drop off information, or to organize a clothing and supply drive text Sharon Collins at 781-336-8439.