What is Compassion Closet?
Our Compassion Closet program serves approximately 60 Charlotte-area families per month, offering, at no cost, gently used clothing, shoes, and small household items as well as new essentials such as diapers and hygiene items. Our approach centers around the voiced needs of the client through our request form, currently offered in Spanish and English, for direct client requests. The form opens on the first of every month and remains open until we have received requests from 30 families (the other 30 come from community partners). We open the form at 8am, and typically by 9am, we are at capacity.
Compassion Closet differs from other local community clothing programs. First, we accept requests directly from clients and do not have qualification criteria. This is especially important within our immigrant client population, as many are undocumented and therefore hesitant to share personal information. Secondly, we deliver requested items directly to the clients when requested, because most of our clients do not have reliable means of transportation. Thirdly, all our services are free, and clients may request items from us every two months for as long as necessary, which means as children grow and seasons change, we can continue to offer appropriate attire.
Holiday Gift-Giving Program: An extension of the Compassion Closet, this program refocuses requests around the winter holidays. Families participate via invitation. They provide their children’s names, ages, and three items on their wishlists. Children and families are then paired with sponsors. We aim to match our clients with families with similarly aged children, as it affords the opportunity for children to more easily participate in the selection of gifts. Our volunteers, church groups, and local schools participate in this program as gift-givers and deliverers.
Organizational Partnerships: We collaborate with other local organizations to meet the needs of community members. We work closely with the Mis Amigos Project, as many of our clients overlap–we assist with their diaper distribution through our volunteer deliveries, and they make food pantry referrals to Loaves and Fishes for our clients.
We partner with the Charlotte branch of the NC Diaper Bank, allowing us to alleviate diaper shortages.
We work with nursing/social work groups supporting expectant mothers from pregnancy through the child’s 5th year. These partners include Care Management for High Risk Pregnancies (CMHRP) – Through the Mecklenburg County Health Department and through Kintegra Health (Gaston County); Care Management for At Risk Children (CMARC) – Through Mecklenburg County Health Department; Camino Health Center; OurBridge for Kids; and Atrium Health. We fill their needs for clothing and diapers as well as clean, safe-to-use baby items, such as: cribs, bassinets and portable cribs, strollers, car seats, high chairs, baby swings and bouncers, bottles, changing pads, blankets, toys, books, breast pumps, etc.
REQUESTING CLOTHING
Individuals may complete a REQUEST FORM to indicate specific needs. We will fill all requests to the best of our ability with our available inventory. (El formulario está en inglés y español.) Please note that we open our request form at 8am on the first of each month, except for December when the Closet is closed so that we can provide our winter holiday gift services. The form remains open until we have received requests from the maximum number of families we can serve. This limit is typically reached within one hour. If you have a VERY URGENT need and our form is already closed, please send an email to culturalcompassion@gmail.com and we will do everything we can to meet your needs in a timely manner.
Compassion Closet Volunteering
We love our volunteers! Please complete our VOLUNTEER FORM so that we can gain a better understanding of how you would like to be involved in our volunteer opportunities!
DONATING ITEMS TO COMPASSION CLOSET
To make a tax deductible apparel donation, please email Becky Schisler at culturalcompassion@gmail.com.
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