To tell the story of how Melissa’s Closet began we must start with the inspiration, Ms. Melissa Farmer.  Melissa has always strived to understand and empathize with others, and she believes that the core part of being human is to serve.  Melissa has led and participated in numerous charitable activities, such as, clothing drives, fundraisers, and youth development.  While leading clothing drives, an interesting phenomenon happened, people who wanted to help never stopped donating clothing to her to give to those in need.  Melissa became the go to facilitator between those who had clothing to donate, and those who needed the cloths.

 

In 2018, Melissa’s daughter founded a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) charitable organization, Raised to Reach Back, Inc. (R2RB), dedicated to providing support to youth.  Knowing her mother’s special gift to bless others, through R2RB Melissa’s daughter officially launched an outreach initiative in honor of her mother, Melissa’s Closet.  To date, Melissa’s Closet has provided thousands of clothing, toiletries, and PPE supplies to the community. 

 

In October 2022, Simpson-Hamline UMC and R2RB eagerly decided to join forces and have established a dedicated space in the church for Melissa’s Closet to make an even bigger impact providing right now needs to the community.