A Georgia mother is opening a free clothing boutique for children in need after noticing her foster daughters only had a few possessions when they came into her home.
Linda Durrence, 51, from Glennville, is scheduled to launch her shop — Blossom — this month. Through donations, it will provide qualifying kids with seven full sets of clothes and shoes every season, as well as after noticeable size changes.
‘We just want to be able to just be the hands and feet of Jesus,’ she told Fox News, saying they have already started helping families ahead of their official opening.
Linda Durrence, 51, from Glennville, Georgia, is opening a free boutique for children in need after adopting her two foster daughters
Through donations, Blossom will provide qualifying kids with seven full sets of clothes and shoes every season, as well as after noticeable size changes
Durrence’s idea for the charitable business came after she and her family suffered the loss of her eldest daughter, who died in a car accident in December 2016 at the age of 27.
After the tragedy, she and her husband moved back to Glennville with their two daughters. Through their local church, her children struck up a friendship with three sisters in foster care who were staying with another family.
When the Durrences learned the sisters were going to be separated into different foster homes, they offered to temporarily take in the two youngest in until they could be reunited with their grandparents.
The eldest sister had just signed herself out of foster care after turning 18 and was initially reluctant to join the family.
‘What God knew that we didn’t is that we needed them as much as they needed us,’ she told WTOC.
Durrence announced on Facebook last month that the boutique is accepting applications ahead of its official opening
While Durrence’s boutique was inspired by her foster daughters, it’s for any child who is in need of clothing, from infants to seniors in high school
In September 2018, their foster daughters moved into their home, and Durrence was immediately struck by how little they owned.
‘The first thing that broke my heart was that they came with a trash bag that wasn’t even halfway full with clothes that didn’t fit them,’ she told Fox News.
‘They had one hairbrush. They did each have a toothbrush, but they only had like a trial size thing of toothpaste. They had no shampoo, no conditioner, no nothing.’
Durrence and her husband took the girls shopping that weekend and picked up everything they might need, but she couldn’t help but think about other foster families who might not be able to afford to do that.
They soon started seeing positive changes in the girls, who were put in foster care after losing their mother. After a few months, they learned they would be reunited with their grandparents, but they begged to stay in their new home.
Durrence’s idea for the charitable business came after her foster daughters moved into her home with just a trash bag that was half-filled with clothes
‘We just want other foster parents to know and foster children to know that the journey can be beautiful if everybody just pitches in and does a little bit,’ she said
Durrence and her husband officially adopted the girls in May 2019 with their grandparents’ blessing. They remain in contact with their grandparents, as well as their older sister, who now lives nearby.
The mom never forgot about her idea to open a boutique for children in need, and when a space opened up in a local shopping center last year, she bought it.
While Durrence’s boutique was inspired by her foster daughters, it’s for any child who is in need of clothing, from infants to seniors in high school.
She announced on Facebook last month that they are now accepting applications for any child in need, saying they will be able to try on clothes during a private appointment.
Durrence said she came up with the name for the boutique after watching her foster daughters ‘blossom’ in her family’s care. She hopes to one day add on an education center to the shop to help foster kids keep up with their school work.
‘We just want other foster parents to know and foster children to know that the journey can be beautiful if everybody just pitches in and does a little bit,’ she said.
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