Ezekiel’s Closet moves to larger building to support foster families

DEXTER, Mo. (Heartland News) — Ezekiel’s Closet has a new, larger home in downtown Dexter, giving the nonprofit more room to provide free clothing and other necessities to foster families across southeast Missouri.

The new storefront at 38 E. Stoddard Street looks much like a typical shop, with shopping carts, clothes, toys and accessories. But the items are donated by the community and available to foster families at no cost.

The organization has grown from a 10-by-10-foot room to a 4,000-square-foot rental space and now a building it has purchased.

Founder Carrie Mosbey said the idea for the closet came from her experience working in foster care and adopting her son, Ezekiel.

“Ezekiel, we got him at birth, and I work in foster care. I license foster homes, and I got a call one night asking for a pack and play,” Mosbey said. “So I pulled one of Ezekiel’s that he had outgrown and drove it down to Kennett and gave this family a pack and play. And then on the way back, I just had the idea to start a foster closet.”

For foster parent and volunteer Jerrica Cecil, the closet helps families prepare when a child needs a home on short notice.

“A lot of times you don’t really plan to be either a foster parent or you don’t plan for a specific kid to come into your home,” she said. “And so you get a call that says, hey, we’ve got this kid or this sibling group that’s going to be here in an hour, two hours later tonight. And if you don’t have anything, you can come in and get whatever you need.”

Cecil said she has watched community support grow as more people learn about the organization.

“When I first started, there were just a few volunteers. And as the social media has grown, I’ve watched our donation bin get fuller and fuller, which is amazing,” she said.

Volunteer Hollie Davis hopes the downtown location will introduce even more people to the nonprofit and its mission.

“We’ve had a lot more people coming off the street thinking maybe we were a thrift store or a resale, that kind of place,” she said. “But it’s allowed us to introduce ourselves, maybe get somebody to volunteer.”

The nonprofit is always welcoming of new volunteers and donors. You can find more information here.