About Us
Our Story
During the pandemic in 2021, our then-future founder Catherine was feeling helpless and low, like so many of us. Determined to do something about it, she called around to local youth organizations asking what they needed so she could help them in a meaningful way. She kept hearing the same answer: underwear.
Suddenly, a light bulb went off. Underwear is so often forgotten, even though it’s the first layer of clothing each of us puts on every day. They explained that underwear cannot be donated, even lightly used; it needs to be new, which is why they rarely get donations of it. Lightly used outer clothing and shoes are often donated as it’s helpful for us to also offload our old or outgrown clothing; but underwear does not fall under that category.
Catherine went to work by putting together a drive in her neighborhood, and even got another neighborhood involved across town. She recruited some friends and board members to help start Cocotree Kids and after that, as they say, the rest was history.
With the help of numerous volunteers, distribution partners, schools, big and small businesses and everywhere in between, Cocotree Kids is celebrating their 5th anniversary this year with over 500,000 pairs of underwear distributed to over 75,000 kids!
Some of our first volunteers
Early days of underwear pick up
Our first storage facility in Catherine’s basement
Our first community event: Natick Days 2021
It’s never too early start volunteering!
Our mission is simple:
To provide new underwear to underserved kids in Massachusetts for their dignity and security.
Underwear is a forgotten layer. It’s so important in order to feel secure and protected, but most people don’t give it a second thought. Kids without underwear access either wear worn out hand me downs that often don’t fit right, reuse soiled underwear, or most often just go completely without it. This is especially difficult for menstruating girls and kids who are potty training. Others feel vulnerable without it and will refuse to go to school or play outside. Cocotree Kids dreams of a day when every child can feel confident and comfortable because they have access to the underwear they need.
“For many of our families, access to basic essentials like new underwear is not guaranteed, and having these items available helps relieve both financial stress and daily hardship.
Parents regularly share how grateful they are to receive brand-new underwear for their children... having properly fitting underwear can improve confidence at school, reduce discomfort, and support a sense of normalcy among their peers.”
— Boston Community Pediatrics
One of our distribution partners