The Ossining Children’s Center held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for its newly renovated donation closet.
The closet is the brainchild of Chappaqua resident and founder Stacy Winnick. She also founded Chappaqua Mom Sales Group.
According to Winnick, she saw the closet idea as an opportunity to help ease the lives of Ossining families in need. She then reached out to California Closets, a Westchester-based manufacturing company, to partner on the job.
"They went into overdrive, they had the whole system ready in a week,” says Winnick.
The donation closet will aim to provide families in need with children’s clothing and other necessities amid the pandemic.
California Closets worked with the Children’s Center to fund and design the $6,000 closet.
"It was a no-brainer…we'd love to be part of the community and this donation will mean a lot for the kids and families,” says Masha Alimova, California Closets’ director of marketing.
Ossining Children’s Center officials hope the newly renovated closet will serve as a beacon of hope in the community just in time for Easter. Development at Ossining Children's Center Director Shawn Cribari tells News 12 the benefits of having the closet are massive.
"Instead of just having donations out on a table for people to pick up, to bring some dignity to the process,” says Cribari. “So having this beautifully organized California Closet allows our families to shop but without having to bring cash."
Winnick and her Chappaqua Mom's organization have already donated 150 dresses and shirts to the closet for Easter. She says the response from the kids made the entire process worth it.
"The joy of the children was unbelievable, watching the smiles and seeing a dress that they put on, that they picked out, that they were so excited to wear,” says Winnick. “The boys were picking out Ralph Lauren Polo shirts that were newly dry cleaned."