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Program that helps meet basic needs for foster and adoptive families opens in Branson

A Sammy's Window location. Sammy's Window is a program of FosterAdopt Connect.
FosterAdopt Connect/YouTube
A Sammy's Window location. Sammy's Window is a program of FosterAdopt Connect.

Sammy's Window began in Springfield and is now in multiple locations, serving kids in Missouri and Kansas.

Branson is now home to a Sammy’s Window location to help area foster families meet basic needs.

Sammy’s Window is a clothing closet and food pantry that serves foster and adoptive parents, kinship care providers and older foster youth. It has multiple locations in Missouri and one in Kansas, and it’s a program of FosterAdopt Connect.

Stephanie Daniels, direct services manager for FosterAdopt Connect, said there was a need for the new location in Branson, an area that serves 130 children and around 60 families.

“I think it will help our families realize they’re not alone, they’re not the only ones in these situations. Just the kiddos receiving goods and knowing that the community cares about them and what’s going on with them, it does make a difference.”

Families are allowed to shop monthly for needed items at Sammy's Window locations.

Daniels said the Branson location at 5571 S. Gretna Rd. will have set hours on the second Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to noon, otherwise, appointments will be needed.

Sammy's Window is typically FosterAdopt Connect's first touch with families in the foster care system, according to Daniels. It's a chance, she said, to get to know them, learn about their situation and point them to other support resources they might need. And the need is growing for their services. In 2023, Sammy's Window Springfield experienced 100% growth from 2022 with the number of unique individuals being served and the growth of items going out the door to clients.

In 2023, Sammy's Window served 1,600 youth each month and distributed 16,499 pieces of clothing, 4,576 new socks, 3,592 pairs of underwear and 5,903 bags of food to children in foster care.

The public can help by donating gently used children’s and teen clothing, new socks and underwear and hygiene products.

Find out where Sammy’s Windows locations are located at fosteradopt.org.

"Most children enter foster care with very little," said Leslie Manor, FosterAdopt Connect Springfield's director of development, in a statement. "Donating something as simple as gently used children's clothing and new socks and underwear not only meets their immediate needs, it helps take the burden off of foster parents who open their hearts and homes to these youth."

Michele Skalicky has worked at KSMU since the station occupied the old white house at National and Grand. She enjoys working on both the announcing side and in news and has been the recipient of statewide and national awards for news reporting. She likes to tell stories that make a difference. Michele enjoys outdoor activities, including hiking, camping and leisurely kayaking.