The Kids’ Closet

Many people walk by the nondescript door on the first floor in Building 3 without taking a second look. But if you look closer, you will see a door that leads to a room of hope, kindness and clothes. A lot of clothes.

It is the Franciscan Children’s “Kids’ Closet”.

At home, a kids’ closet brings to mind an overabundance of toys stuffed haphazardly into a tight space, only to fall on the floor whenever it is opened.

But this one is so much more. It provides hope and happiness to those that need it the most.

The Kids’ Closet is the passion project of the social work team, but it is a passion project born out of necessity and compassion.

“I got an email about a patient on Unit 1 who had grown out of their clothing because of the medication they were on,” said Kate Whyte, who is a Medical Social Worker at the hospital. “They were asking if we had anything in the Caregiver Closet that may fit the child, but I thought that we should do the same for our kids.”

So Kate and her team got to work. They utilized social media to request donations and they worked with hospital leaders to find an appropriate space for the items. It was crucial to have a central place where all of the kids on campus, inpatient, outpatient, dental, or at the Kennedy Day School, could come to find the items they need.

“We took in a bunch of donations, we secured an area and we were able to get shelving up and all those things,” Kate said. “It’s still a work in progress but it’s getting close to where we want it to be.”

Franciscan Children’s provides world-class care and education to children with complex medical issues. A lot of the families that come to receive services on campus are under-resourced and going through a lot of financial stressors. They have difficulty providing items like sweatshirts or other clothing items that many take for granted.

As we know around campus, it is the little things that go a long way to make a child’s day. Fulfilling a need when they may not have anywhere else to turn is something a child will never forget, and that is something that our empathetic staff strives to do every day.

“We would love for this to continue for years to come,” Kate said. “We want to continue to utilize friends, families and community generosity to keep it well-stocked. We want to spread the word so that all staff here know that it’s a resource, and that we will continue to be able to help families. I don’t want it to just be a now thing, I want it to last.”

The social work team is not only finding ways to make it last, but making it more than just for giving.

“We had someone from Unit 1 do the artwork and we will continue to ask for artwork for the space,” Kate said. “One of the patients going through physical therapy is going to help out in the closet, working on her balance and folding. I have reached out around the organization to see if some of the higher functioning kids would be interested in sorting.”

What started out as a simple email asking for a piece of clothing has turned into an entire closet well-stocked with the essentials kids in under-resourced families deserve. As the project continues to grow, so too does the need for more goods for our amazing patients and families.

For information on how to help contribute to our Kids’ Closet, please contact Kate Whyte at kwhyte@franciscanchildrens.org.