In February 2009, our family received a phone call that would change our lives forever. The Department of Social Services (DSS) representative on the other end of the line said there was a 3-year-old girl at their office who needed emergency foster placement. Knowing in our hearts this was a personal call to action, my husband (Steve) and I immediately drove over there to find this precious child, Kaylee, wearing her only personal belonging: her nightgown.
We immediately kicked into gear and scurried to find “little girl things” to make her transition to our home less frightening and traumatic. Friends came to the rescue, providing us with clothing, toiletries, and even a toddler bed.
This sweet little girl stayed in our home for 18 months, at which time DSS located one of her family members living in New York. DSS let us know they would be moving Kaylee, along with her seven siblings, to live with their grandmother.
Our family was devastated. As we tearfully said our goodbyes, we sensed it would be the last time we would ever see our beloved Kaylee.
Meeting a need
As the years passed, I continued to reach out to Kaylee’s extended family to check on her and her siblings. In spite of the family’s several different moves across the state, we maintained some communication with Kaylee by sending her cards and birthday gifts.
In 2019, my husband and I sensed a prompting to open a clothing and supply closet for foster children; we named it in honor of Kaylee. We opened Kaylee’s Closet, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit outreach providing crucial items and more to foster families. Many times, families who care for foster children don’t have advance notice that they will be called upon to help a child, or multiple children, from infants to teenagers. Kaylee’s Closet comes to their aid by packing a bag with a week’s worth of age-appropriate clothes, underwear, socks, shoes, pajamas, backpacks and school supplies, hygiene bags, diapers and wipes, and even baby equipment and furniture. We are available to help these children throughout their journey, providing more clothing and supplies as they grow.
Special guest
In August 2024, we celebrated Kaylee’s Closet’s fifth anniversary with a community-wide festival in Franklin. The highlight of this event was our tearful reunion with Kaylee. After 15 years, we were able to fly Kaylee from New York to Franklin to be our guest of honor.
As she spent time with us the week of the celebration, Kaylee was able to share her testimony with several foster families, offering them hope and encouragement to maintain contact with their previous placements. It was also a blessing for us to learn that Kaylee had retained many memories of her time with our family, memories she has held close to her heart.
That week, Kaylee was also able to fill a duffel bag for a 16-year-old girl being placed in foster care for the first time — a traumatic experience. As she filled the bag, Kaylee remarked that she could identify with the emptiness this young lady must be feeling. She asked if we could possibly give the girl a brand-new pair of tennis shoes, as she remembered the pain she had personally felt growing up when other children picked on her for having so little. Of course, we went straight to the store!
Every child of God needs to know how important, special, valued, and loved he or she is, no matter what they have gone through. Already this year, we have been blessed to have provided assistance to more than 200 children in Western North Carolina. Please join us in helping foster families by visiting www.KayleesClosetFranklin.com. Your tax-deductible donations can make an eternal difference in the lives of our most precious resource: our children.