Get To Know Us
Our Mission
To serve women, children, and individuals from all walks of life by providing high-quality clothing and personal care items during times of hardship. This includes supporting those emerging from domestic violence situations, children in foster care, and families impacted by fire, loss, or other unexpected emergencies throughout Wayne County, Ohio, and surrounding areas.
The Beginning
Our founder, Maralee Martin, carried a vision in her heart that she couldn’t ignore, a deep desire to serve those in need and partner with local organizations making a difference in the community. In 2020, with the help of a few dedicated friends, The Caring Closet was formed. That first year, the organization was able to fill five closets for women and children transitioning out of Julia’s Place, the domestic abuse shelter at OneEighty in Wooster.
As the mission grew, The Boutique came to life in February 2022. It was created not only to help generate income from our abundance to purchase essential items for those we serve, but also to offer a welcoming thrift boutique experience. The vision was to create a space where individuals from all walks of life could feel valued and cared for while discovering beautiful, affordable items.
The Boutique is unique in that it is largely donation-based, allowing shoppers to give what they can in fairness to both the donor and the individuals we serve continuing a cycle of generosity, dignity, and community support.
Since Then
The Caring Closet has grown into a trusted community partner, now collaborating with approximately 20 local organizations to serve individuals and families across Wayne County and surrounding areas.
We operate as the CCHO dedicated closet located upstairs within our boutique. We provide clothing, new shoes, suitcases, pillows, towels, and other essential items to support the children and families we serve.
We also maintain emergency foster placement suitcases, each packed with approximately seven outfits along with other essential items, prepared to support children during urgent and unexpected foster placements.
We are also proud partners with The Pregnancy Care Center, where clients can earn “bucks” through parenting classes and use them to shop at our facility.
In addition, we have supported students referred by school personnel with clothing, shoes, bathing suits, Christmas trees, gifts, and other essentials to meet both everyday and seasonal needs.
A dedicated space has been created for foster families, allowing them to quickly access emergency placement items such as diapers, strollers, pack ’n plays, highchairs, clothing, and other essentials when time is critical.
Through partnerships with Children’s Services, AnaZao, One-Eighty Substance Abuse Services, and many other local organizations, we continue to provide for clients in moments of need ensuring dignity, care, and support are always within reach.
