Uplift Boutique aims to uplift Butte County communities

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CHICO — The idea for the new Uplift Boutique at First Christian Church Chico started as a seed that sprouted in The Forgotten Initiative Butte County Advocate Jenny Hildenbrand’s mind.

“I’d been thinking and praying on it and throwing spaghetti at the wall,” said Hildenbrand.

The boutique opened two weeks ago and is a room at the church dedicated to providing supplies for people with foster children or for reunified families. The Forgotten Initiative is a nationwide organization that supports and provides resources for foster care communities. Visit the website for more information at https://theforgotteninitiative.org/

“I go to foster care and social services agencies to find out what they need and work with the churches to fill those needs,” Hildenbrand said. “One thing I was observing was that the clothing drives didn’t have enough space to store things long term.”

The boutique has room and officially opened two weeks ago. The boutique’s regular hours are Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the hours possibly changing in the future.

The volunteers working in the boutique are from First Christian Church Chico and they are working with churches to get backup volunteers. The three main churches involved in the project are First Christian, Bidwell Presbyterian Church and Chico First Baptist Church of Chico.

Family reunification involves bringing family members back together after a period of separation. The boutique offers free clothing for mainly babies and small children and also provides other items like cleaning supplies, diapers, baby blankets, bed linens, towels, outdoor gear and sippy cups. Hildenbrand said there is not a limit of how many items people can take, within reason.

Hildenbrand is herself a mother of four adopted children from foster care, so her work is near and dear to her heart. FCC Chico member and board member Carolyn Driscoll is running the shop and training volunteers.

“My own life is very centered around the foster care community,” Hildenbrand said. “This is an extension of what I feel my mission is and what I’m passionate about.”

Anyone from any Butte County church can drop off things or be involved.

“Individuals can come by and drop things off regardless of affiliation,” Hildenbrand said. “We want to be able to help heal these communities and help families through the process.”

Driscoll helped to create the magic when she joined with Hildenbrand to make the boutique possible.

“Carolyn was the golden ticket,” Hildenbrand said. “All of the connections came together and First Christian rallied around this idea. It has became a reality now.”

Driscoll also has experience with the foster care system.

“My grandchild was adopted through foster care and it was a very hard thing,” Driscoll said. “She was adopted when she was six years old and had been in seven foster homes.”

Driscoll then teamed up with Hildenbrand.

“I connected with Jenny immediately and loved what she was doing,” Driscoll said. “We talked about how we can continue to promote this. She came to our church in February and gave a presentation about TFI. She said her dream was to have a room like this.”

Driscoll said she told the board that the church does a lot of work for adults but needed to do something for children. She made a proposal to the board regarding the project.

“There has been so much support from the church,” she said. “It has just grown. I’m so excited to be working with Jenny.”

Driscoll is in charge of training volunteers and running the boutique. At some point, the boutique could expand to include items for adults.

“We’ve considered having clothes for reunified women who are looking for jobs,” Driscoll said.

FCC Chico Pastor Jesse Kearns said church staff made a promise decades ago to have every room in the church dedicated to ministry.

“Ministry means to go out and aid the community,” Kearns said. “Carolyn was out in the community always listening for ministry opportunities. She was doing what she does best. We are doing our best to provide volunteers and space and upkeep. The positive response we have gotten is amazing.”

For more information, email Hildenbrand at buttecounty.ca@theforgotteninitiative.org or email Driscoll at dncrdriscoll@att.net. The FCC Chico address is 295 East Washington Ave. The phone number is 530-343-3727. To donate unstained, gently used clothing, visit the FCC Chico office during office hours Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. To drop off items at Bidwell Presbyterian Church, go to 208 West First St. between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Bidwell Presbyterian phone number is 530-343-1484.