What Is Zion’s Closet?

Zion’s Closet is our initiative to build fully stocked resource centers inside Title I schools to support students and families experiencing poverty or housing insecurity. These spaces are intentionally designed to provide essential items such as uniforms, shoes, school supplies, hygiene kits, food, and clothing, while also creating a sense of dignity, care, and belonging.

Each Zion’s Closet is uniquely crafted based on the needs of the school community. Some include washers and dryers, refrigeration, or computer labs for parents to help bridge the digital divide and remove barriers to learning. In some schools, we also create safe meeting spaces where parents and caregivers can gather, access resources, or connect with school staff in supportive ways.

This is more than a room filled with supplies, it’s a space that helps students show up clean, confident, and ready to succeed.

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How It Works

We partner with schools, volunteers, and local organizations to reimagine unused classrooms or storage areas. Our team comes into paint, clean, decorate, and stock these spaces with everything students and families may need.

Zion’s Closet is not one-size-fits-all, it’s built in conversation with the school community. We listen, assess needs, and then collaborate to design a closet that reflects the specific realities of that school.

The Book That Sparked a Movement

Before it became a national initiative, Zion’s Closet began with a story, Zion Learns to See, co-written by Dr. Terence Lester and his daughter, Zion. The book invites children to develop empathy, awareness, and courage to take action in their own communities. That message of compassion and visibility lives on through every closet we build.

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Bring Zion’s Closet to My School

Are you a school leader, educator, parent liaison, or community partner? We want to hear from you.

Zion’s Closet is scalable and community-rooted, and we’re actively expanding. If you’d like to explore bringing a closet to your school, fill out the interest form below. Our team will follow up to learn more and explore next steps together.

School Name:(Required)

School Location (City/State):(Required)

City State

Student Population Size:(Required)

Specific Needs of Students (select all that apply):(Required)

Uniforms

Shoes

Hygiene Items

Food

Technology Access

Laundry Support

Safe Space for Parents

Other (please specify)

Sponsoring Faculty or Staff Member:(Required)

Principal’s Name:(Required)

Contact Email(Required)

Phone Number:(Required)

Best Time to Call:(Required)

Anything Else You’d Like Us to Know?

Finch Elementary (APS)

Finch Elementary is a Title 1 school in Atlanta Public Schools and the first to receive a Zion’s Closet, which includes a washing machine and dryer, a computer lab for parents, uniforms, school supplies, and other essential items to support students and families.

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Liberty Point Elementary (FCS)

Liberty Point is Zion’s Closet’s second location and works with Community In Schools, the social workers, and the principal to meet the school’s needs for clothing, food resources, and a space designed for parent engagement. This is especially important at this school because these are the greatest needs.

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Love T. Nolan Elementary School (FCS)

Love T. Nolan Elementary, part of Fulton County Schools, is the third Zion’s Closet location—providing students and families with access to food, school uniforms, essential supplies, and technology support to help remove barriers to learning.

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Join the Movement

Help build access.

Help build closets.

Help build support the future—one student at a time.

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Our Story

We are committed to the people that the world passes by each day. We believe the people struggling with poverty have lives and stories that are just as valuable as ours.

Volunteer

Volunteering is truly about one life impacting another. There are so many ways to volunteer your time, gifts, and talents to help us serve communities nationally and locally.

Learn

Fear has no place in love. We strive to view everyone as an individual with a hopeful, better future. All humans are worthy of dignity and we desire to show the same unconditional love to each one of them.

Donate

Everything we do is because of generous donors that see value in our impact. We ask you to consider giving to our organization. All financial gifts will be used to continue to do work that reaches people where they are and share their stories.

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