Cocotree Kids Set to Triple Impact in 2023
Cocotree Kids has grown significantly this past year, but our roots remain the same. During COVID, our founder Catherine Maloy started Cocotree Kids after discovering that underwear was the most requested item by youth social service organizations. What began as a neighborhood drive in 2021 grew into an organization that distributed over 100,000 pairs for 14,200 kids in just over two years!
Our mission is to ensure that every child has access to new underwear for each day of the week. New underwear provides children with confidence, comfort, and dignity to face the road ahead of them. Without it, they don’t want to go to school or go outside and play. But underwear is one of the most needed items for youth and families experiencing financial hardship because it cannot be donated gently used, nor can families use food stamps or thrift store vouchers to purchase it.
While we gear up for Giving Tuesday, one of our most impactful times of the year for fundraising, we are proud to look back on our growth and accomplishments thanks to the countless donors, sponsors and foundations, small businesses, schools, youth organizations, partners, and so many others.
Here are some of our major highlights from 2023:
Press
Catherine Maloy, Founder and CEO of Cocotree Kids, was featured on the front page of the Living Arts section in The Boston Globe.
Cocotree Kids was featured on WCVB’s 5 for Good and their morning Wake Up Call.
Grants
We received a $50,000 grant over two years from The Boston Foundation. The Boston Foundation provided $3.1 million in funding to 40 organizations, including twenty-four in the first cohort of grantees under the new Safety Net Grants program. We were honored to be one of the 15% of organizations chosen.
We received a $5,000 grant from the Forest Foundation. With these funds, we were able to invest in critical infrastructure needed to grow and continue to expand across Massachusetts.
We received a $5,000 grant from the Foundation for Metrowest’s Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) program. The Foundation for Metrowest not only grants essential funds, but also serves as a community partner and pillar of support for local nonprofits in providing helpful tools, resources, and programs.
Partnerships
We formed a partnership with children’s clothing brand Lucky & Me, based out of Windham, NH. Lucky & Me creates super comfortable and sustainable kidswear. All of their clothing is ethically made and crafted from the finest quality materials. Since 2022, Lucky & Me has donated over 14,000 pairs of underwear to Cocotree Kids and is committed to strengthening our partnership.
We formed a partnership with Natick-based singer, Stacey Peasley, whose music has entertained and engaged families for over a decade. At each performance, Stacey collects packs of underwear and donations for Cocotree Kids. Stacey’s partnership helps bring awareness to and support for children’s underwear insecurity in the state.
We partnered with April Garry, who ran the Boston Marathon as a charity runner to raise funds for Cocotree Kids. Her marathon fundraising efforts raised $4,500!
Community Partners
We added 15 new partner organizations this year for a total of 22.
We helped Mass General Brigham kickstart a new Child Life Department program at their Boston and Newton-Wellesley locations, where underwear will be provided to children coming through the Emergency Rooms. Previously, the ERs only had diapers and maternity underwear available to send off patients.
We donated 30,000 pairs of underwear to Cradles to Crayons and expanded our reach across the state through their Seasonal Essentials Program. In 2022, we distributed 30,000 pairs of underwear for the entire year!
We are so grateful to the many partners we work with to get underwear on children’s bottoms. With their help, we will distribute 90,000 pairs of underwear this year and triple our impact from the 30,000 pairs of underwear distributed in 2022. Knowing the impact we are making together keeps us motivated to continue to find new ways to increase our reach within our local communities to ensure that every child has access to new underwear.
If you would like to find out how to help us expand our efforts and support more children, visit the How to Help section of our site.
We are excited to see what we can accomplish together in 2024!
