About Us

I sat in the waiting room in UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in September of 2024, while my daughter had an MRI test.

While sitting there, I watched as an elderly man, pushing his elderly wife in a wheel chair entered the lobby of the bustling hospital, not knowing where to go. The man, while pushing the wheel chair, was also pulling a little red wagon full of suitcases.

It was in these moments that I started to form my own opinions on his situation.

Here was man whos grandchild was life flighted for a medical emergency. Mom and Dad raced to the hospital as fast as they could, never once thinking of themselves. Now, here they were three days later, calling Grandma and Grandpa to bring them the essential items that they had gone without. Changes of clothing, cell phone chargers, toothbrushes, etc.

It was in these moments the idea for Care Closet Initiative was born. Why isn’t there an organization out there, who partners with hospitals, to provide clothing and daily living essentials to people in these situations, helping families navigate these difficult times with a little less stress and a little more dignity. Over the next few months the idea never left my mind, and in January of 2025 Care Closet Initiative was established as a Non-Profit Corporation to bring these ideas to reality.