Since 2018, Mary Ann’s Foster Closet has helped foster parents get the essentials they need for the children placed in their care, helping families create a sense of stability during a major life transition.
Tracie Catalano founded the free shop after serving as a foster parent for nine years, before eventually adopting some of the children she cared for.
“Our motivation is to help offset the financial burden to the foster parent because all the foster parent is trying to do is show up for the child,” Catalano said. “They want to make sure the child is taken care of, they care, and the financial decision to do that is difficult.”
At the shop, foster parents can get clothing, baby items, and everyday essentials for their children, free of charge, thanks to generous donations from the community and community partners.
Sheila Lamarre has been a foster mother for nine years and adopted four children.
“Coming to the closet is not just about shopping, it’s also community where I can run into another foster parent or another adoptive parent and we can just sit here and pow-wow,” said Lamarre.
Catalano said her mother, Mary Ann, was the inspiration behind the closet. After her passing, Catalano created a way for the community to come together to support foster children and the families who care for them.
“My baby needed, I needed to start her in school, and I wanted to know what the best schools were, and she helped steer me in the right direction,” said foster mother, Nicole Larson.
What started as a small effort in Tracie Catalano’s garage eight years ago has grown into an outreach organization helping meet the needs of more than 1,000 foster parents, changing lives one family at a time.
For more information on Mary Ann’s Foster Closet, click here.
