Who We Are

It all started with you…

When Rachel Ritter and Rachel Lawson, also known as The Rachels, stood looking over 300+ trash bags full of clothes in February of 2018 that were donated by the community, they had no idea what the year would bring. At the time, SMILE was serving about four children per month. Ideas were endless and donations of gently used clothing were pouring in! The Rachels agreed that if they weren’t serving an average of 22 children by July, the effort may not be worth all the volunteer hours and coordination. However, the need they found was essential for the community. During our first year of serving, SMILE provided over 334 children in 2018 with essentials. As our outreach about SMILE Foster Closet has grown and donations, both monetary and gently used clothing, have been given, 1,184 children in 2023 were provided for by SMILE.

SMILE has been incredibly blessed by the generous individuals in our Northeast Tennessee region: material donations, monetary donations, and volunteers keep SMILE going. We have always been able to count on our donors to help us when we need specific items. Because of this amazing support, SMILE hopes to continue to grow the number of children they serve every year.

Our Northeast Tennessee service area includes:

Carter County
Greene County
Hancock County
Hawkins County
Johnson County
Sullivan County
Unicoi County
Washington County