Meet Emily...Emily is a 17-year-old high school student with a big heart for service. In 2021, Emily was taking a tour of a local food pantry and saw that there weren't many choices when it came to personal care items available for families. She learned that these products could not be purchased with SNAP benefits so people have to pay out of pocket for these items if purchased at retail stores. She didn't want families to have to choose between purchasing these basic necessities or perhaps paying for housing or utilities.
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Emily was so moved that she gathered her Christmas gift cards and sat down with the Sunday circulars to find the best deals to purchase for those in need. Emily purchased items and would donate those items to local food pantries.
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In 2022, Emily wanted to expand her services and offer services focused on teens. It is at that time that the non-profit, Emily's Care Closet was formed and later that year received 501c3 charitable status. Emily started the Teen Back-to-School Drive which provides brand new clothes, backpacks, and school supplies for teens in 5 counties in Southcentral Pennsylvania. She also started a Teen Christmas Drive which provides new clothes and gifts for teens. Teens are often overlooked when it comes to children's Christmas gift drives.
Here at Emily's Care Closet, we know that sometimes all it takes to change the world is a little support. Since our founding in 2021, we have been determined to make an impact. In 2022, Emily's Care Closet helped over 2500 individuals from over 750 families. In 2023,Emily's Care Closet helped over 1,000 families.
Emily hopes to soon have her own location where families can come in and personally choose their care items in a boutique setting.
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together"
Vincent van Gogh
WHAT WE DO
Furthering our cause is the most important goal of our organization. We seek to support, empower, and provide high quality personal care items for our community and focus on our teens with back-to-school clothes and gifts for the holidays. Emily's Care Closet serves families in over 5 counties in Central Pennsylvania.
