Teenager creates charity to help parents – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

(WSVN) – It’s tough for some families to afford to buy new school clothes for their kids. But, inspired by her family’s own struggles, one young Sunrise woman is hoping to ease that burden. Her compassion shines in the 7Spotlight with Courtney Allen.

Eighteen-year-old Gracie Canedy looks through a rack of clothes, tucked inside an elementary school in Broward County.

You won’t find any price tags here. All of these clothes are free to any needy family at the school.

Gracie Canedy: “It all starts with an idea.”

Gracie, a recent Plantation High School graduate, said she came up with the idea to create this free closet from her own childhood experience.

Gracie Canedy: “One of the problems I had when I was younger, we struggled to get uniforms sometimes, a lot.”

Gracie has four other siblings, and it was tough at times for her parents to make ends meet.

Gracie Canedy: “It was a struggle to get money; it was a struggle to pay the bills at times. They needed their kids’ help at times to help pay.”

While her family struggled financially, Gracie excelled in Girl Scouts. The highest achievement is the Gold Award. Gracie started brainstorming.

Gracie Canedy: “What is something that needs to be changed? What is something that needs to help families? Because I wanna focus on families, I’m very family-oriented. It is all family.”

Her idea for the Compassion Closet was born. She started pitching it to local schools.

The principal at Horizon Elementary in Sunrise liked it.

Gracie Canedy: “When they said yes, I looked at my mom like, ‘They said yes!’”

Horizon is a Title I school, meaning the school receives federal funding to support low-income students.

Principal Thaddeus Smith: “We have 38% of our population that’s students with disability. We have families who struggle with providing uniforms throughout the school year.”

Gracie worked with the school to send out flyers about the closet. Families started donating clothes, and Gracie started learning some lessons from her mom.

Stacey Canedy: “Helping her at home with the laundry, all like that, ’cause I had to teach her how to use the washing machine. I do all the laundry in the house, and helping her set up the warehouse, because we do have a warehouse where we store everything in.”

Now that the word is out, the school coordinates with families to privately “shop” the closet of uniform-approved clothes.

Gracie Canedy: “It kind of made me realize that I could finally help people the way I wanted the help when I was younger.”

The City of Sunrise recognized Gracie for achieving the prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award and creating her Compassion Closet at a recent commission meeting.

Mayor Michael J. Ryan: “Beyond just the clothes, that type of commitment to seeing the world around you as something that you can positively impact, that you can do it with empathy and compassion is a unique gift.”

Gracie’s mom couldn’t be more proud.

Stacey Canedy: “I can barely cook dinner and talk on the phone at the same time, but she can do school, dual enroll, Girl Scout Gold Award. The drive she has and the compassion she has is just mind-blowing.”

Gracie’s goal now is to create a nonprofit and bring her Compassion Closet to more schools in South Florida and beyond.

Gracie’s also done bake sales to raise money to buy clothes for the closet and thrift-shopped.

If you’d like to donate or want to see a compassion closet at your school, you can email her at [email protected].

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at [email protected].

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