See Beautiful Grant Recipient: Community Connections

The feature below is brought to you by Community Connections, an organization that has been awarded a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click here.
 
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Community Connections was recently awarded a generous grant from See Beautiful, a philanthropic organization committed to funding projects that create more beautiful in the world. Thanks to See Beautiful, our agency has the opportunity to invest into the Closet Connection, a place where children in foster care can find clothes and toys that represent their unique interests and tastes.

In adolescence, children are learning who they are, figuring out what they like, and discovering their skills and interests. Our goal as a foster care agency is to provide safe spaces where the children in our program can just be kids. In the Closet, children find t-shirts with their favorite princesses and superheroes, toys for building and playing pretend, and books whose stories take them to far off lands. The Closet Connection is a place of exploration and self-discovery, where the needs of every beautiful, unique child are met.

The Closet Connection is stocked with donations from the community around us, and we are so grateful that our friends and neighbors see the importance of this resource and give regularly. With this grant from See Beautiful, we have the flexibility to buy new items that our children need but that aren’t often donated. Items like new toothbrushes, cribs, and underwear are necessities for our families, even though they aren’t often in the donations we receive. Funding is essential to fill donation gaps and ensure a positive shopping experience for families and children in our foster care program.

Children entering foster care often come with little to none of their belongings, so we provide them with an entire wardrobe from the Closet, as well as comfort items like knitted blankets and toys. Providing these items allows our foster parents to focus on welcoming children into their home, rather than needing to immediately go out and buy essentials. The transition into foster care can be a busy and stressful time, but we simplify the process by having supplies ready, so our foster families can concentrate on making a good first impression.

We are open to providing homes for all children needing a foster care placement, but Community Connections specializes in providing quality foster care placements to children with medically fragile needs. Given the number of children in our program with medically fragile needs, we make sure a variety of clothes and toys are available so that children of all abilities can benefit from the Closet. Whether it’s the same pair of shoes in different sizes for our child with a prosthetic leg, or pajamas with an adaptive opening for our child with a feeding tube, the Closet is an inclusive resource for all.

We firmly believe there is nothing more beautiful than a safe and happy child, which is why we created a space where children can safely express themselves and their interests. Every time a child smiles, there’s a little bit more beauty in the world. The Closet is a place that inspires smiles and builds confidence, and it is made possible through a community of donors who see this as true. Thank you to See Beautiful for trusting in our mission. We can’t wait to work together spreading beauty through the Closet Connection.

Submitted by: ​Emily Stone