When a child is placed in foster care it’s common for them to arrive at their new home with nothing but the clothes on their back.
And there are no expectations that their suitcase, filled with the kind of apparel all children need, was somehow lost and will magically turn up on the doorstep after being found by a Good Samaritan. It’s a tragic and traumatic situation for a child who has suddenly been cast into loving but unfamiliar surroundings, and sends foster parents scrambling to find a sufficient wardrobe for the child now in their care.
It’s a situation the members of the Foster-Adoptive Parents Association of Southern Oklahoma are all too familiar with, and it’s something they hope to rectify through Kourtney’s Kloset.
On Friday, Jennifer Brewer, president of FAPASO, explained the concept in a single sentence.
“We know there is good used clothing out there that foster kids can use,” she said.
The group hopes to garner clean, quality, outgrown, hand-me-down clothing donated by area parents and grandparents. The vision is to use the donations to fill multiple clothing racks in Kourtney’s Kloset and allow foster parents and their foster children to shop for the items each child needs to create a wardrobe.
“It’s a real need and we’re hoping to fill it. We need donations of all kinds of clothing for boys and girls, except for underwear and socks. We’re looking for items that range in sizes from infants up to age 18,” Brewer said.
In addition to children’s clothing, Brewer said Kourtney’s Kloset will carry a small supply of donated adult “interview” clothes.
“Many foster children are returned to their real parents, once they have made necessary changes and can take care of their children again. One of those changes is often getting a job, and we want to be able to offer those parents an interview outfit,” Brewer said.
Currently there are no clothes in Kourtney’s Kloset. Still it is already more than simply an innovative idea.
“We have had a room donated in the basement of First Bank and Trust in downtown Ardmore,” Brewer said during a phone conversation Friday as she, other members of the group and volunteers worked at renovating the space named in honor of a special young woman — Kourtney Brackett Cargal.
“Kourtney was 21 and had been married just 8 months when she was diagnosed with brain cancer,” said Brewer, who had participated in several fundraisers to help pay the young woman’s medical expenses. “She fought a valiant battle, but she died in June. Once all of her medical bills had been paid, there was money ($3,000) left over and her parents, Monty and Lorri Boatright, wanted to donate the money to something that would really mean something and honor her.
“We all prayed about it and it just seemed like this — Kourtney’s Kloset was where the money should go. So her parents donated the money to this project for the initial work.”
While an opening date and operating hours for Kourtney’s Kloset have not yet been announced, Brewer said the group was ready to accept clothing donations. Those who have hand-me-downs appropriate for the project can call Brewer at (580) 220-9502 or Theresa Haggard at (580) 294-3128 to make pick-up or drop-off arrangements.
“And everyone should watch for the date of the opening, which will be coming soon,” Brewer said.
Marsha Miller 221-6529
marsha.miller@ardmoreite.com
