The Magic Behind This Mission

By Patti See

When Tammy Wood-Garr and her husband Josh Garr welcomed their first foster child, a four-year-old who came to them wearing just a diaper and tutu, they realized the tremendous need for families to have easy access to clothing and other supplies.

In 2013, the idea for Wisconsin Foster Closet, Inc. was born. At first Tammy and Josh used their basement to store clothing and other items in totes to share with foster families. Then they expanded to a rented storage unit and now a 2,200 square foot store at 3375 Kothlow Avenue in Menomonie. Families can take home up to ten days' worth of clothes for children in their care. Once kids outgrow the clothes, they can trade them in for more.

Tammy Wood-Garr

For her ongoing work at WFC, Tammy was recently honored with a national Daily Point of Light Award, which recognizes individuals who change the world.

There are currently over 7,000 Wisconsin kids in foster care. Another reported 3,000 children are in “kinship” care statewide: a relative steps up to take in the child when a parent is unable to.

These numbers are always in flux, as are the estimated 200 foster children in Chippewa county and 100 or so in Eau Claire County.

This holiday season, volunteer WFC President Tracy Taylor is running Christmas for Kids, a program now in its tenth year. She matches Secret Santas with foster and kinship children to provide a gift based on specific requests. The need continues to be great, and the organization welcomes more buyers or donations to purchase gifts [see www.wifostercloset.org or call 715-330-3303]. Tracy stresses about donors, “You are the magic behind this mission.”

WFC offers other programs throughout the year. Each April, foster and kinship parents can “shop” the free clothing racks as the season changes. A back-to-school event in August provides school supplies, backpacks and water bottles, as well as new school clothes.

WFC is a non-profit which remains 100% donation driven and volunteer-run. Workers put in 10 to 80 hours a week sorting donations, washing and organizing clothes, and answering calls. No one earns a salary. Rent, insurance, and internet cost around $2,000 per month in WFC’s current space.

Director Tammy says it takes more than “just hearts, hands, and hope” to run WFC, though that’s a great start. She praises her amazing board and says of her husband, “Without him, this wouldn’t be possible.” Josh jokes, “I drive the truck.”

Tammy and Josh have a blended family of nine children. Each of them brought three to their marriage and adopted three more who were in their care. The couple was told that their first adopted child, now 18, may never overcome his difficulty talking or walking. With years of support, he thrived. In fact, he ran track in high school. Their next two—siblings who are now 7 and 8 years old—came to Tammy and Josh’s home as a newborn and an 11-month-old.

Foster and kinship families offer children a stable and nurturing environment. Foster parents can be single or married, own their own house or rent, work in or outside of their home, have birth children or care for children for the first time. Foster parents’ ages, races, or income levels vary.

North Carolina resident Peter Mutabazi is a single parent who has fostered almost 50 children; so far, he has adopted six of them. He says, “When a child feels seen, they feel known. And when they feel known, they shine.” Peter ran away from an abusive home at age ten and lived on the streets of Kampala, Uganda for almost five years before a stranger showed him great kindness. This mentor helped Peter enroll in a boarding school and paid his tuition. That education eventually led Peter to the United States, where his desire to give back to children like himself drew him to foster care. He became a US citizen in 2019 and founded “Now I am Known,” a non-profit which provides resources to empower foster kids, like offering them surprise bedroom makeovers or promoting positive stories to draw others into foster parenting.

Kayla and Tyler Peters of Chippewa Falls heeded that call in 2023. Tyler says it wasn’t a matter of if they would foster but when. Their first placement, three siblings under age 4, lived with Kayla and Tyler for nine months until the children returned to their father. Reunification with biological parents is the objective when safe and appropriate. The couple stresses how transparency and open communication made for a good relationship with their foster kids’ dad. Tyler says, “We work together to provide stability.” Kayla tells me that when she considered fostering—where parents can build a bond with children for a few days or for years—she always knew, “I’m gonna put my whole heart into it.” As a high school student, she experienced the loving support of a foster family. Over a decade later, Kayla is still in contact with them.

While Kayla and Tyler are just getting started, Tammy and Josh have fostered over 100 children, some for a weekend and some for six years. Tammy points out that donations to WFC—new or gently used clothes, hygiene products, backpacks, blankets, and stuffed animals—offer scared children a sense of worth, safety, and belonging. None of this is possible without help from people of the Chippewa Valley.

Tammy asks us to imagine what it’s like to be a child in this situation: “You’ve just been pulled away from the only life you’ve ever known. Maybe it wasn’t perfect—maybe it was even painful—but it was home…You clutch nothing but fear and confusion as you step into a stranger’s car. . . You’re told it’s going to be okay, but you have nothing to call your own. No pajamas. No toothbrush.. . .The family who welcomed you wants to help—but they had no time to prepare… Going to a store after everything that just happened… It’s trauma on top of trauma.”

Wisconsin Foster Closet—along with the community behind it—helps ease that distress.

This article appeared in the Eau Claire Leader Telegram and is being shared here with the author's permission.