Demand in Washington County for donated children’s clothes, toiletries and school supplies has grown 92 percent at Children in Need over the last three years, said Brittany Wedd, executive director of the Hagerstown nonprofit working to meet the needs of disadvantaged children in the community.
“We are all experiencing the increased cost of living,” Wedd said. A family in poverty working to pay more for housing and food has a harder time affording clothes, toiletries and school supplies—items the nonprofit offers disadvantaged youth at no cost.
From July 2025 to June 2026, Children in Need Inc. — which operates from the rear of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in north Hagerstown — handed out a record-breaking 252,000 items, Wedd said. The center now serves 453 families a month, a 51 percent increase from three years ago when Wedd took leadership of the organization.
The nonprofit now serves about 3,800 children a year, 92 percent of whom live at or below the federal poverty level. About 11.6 percent of Washington County residents lived below the poverty line in 2024, according to the most recent data available from the U.S Census. In 2026, a family of four earning $33,000 or less a year lives at the federal poverty level. Wedd said the center works with children living at, below or near the poverty line.
To meet the demand, Wedd said that Children in Need — powered by four full-time employees and about 80 volunteers — has diversified its revenue, is applying for more grants and is reaching out to more area businesses to hold clothing drives to benefit the center, which will need to move to a larger space in a couple of years. The nonprofit also takes referrals and collaborates with local schools, businesses and nonprofits to help children.
“We fully believe that collective impact is how we make a change in our world and in our community,” Wedd said. “We also recognize that poverty is multifaceted and that we can’t mitigate all of the impacts of poverty through clothing.”
Children in Need Inc. was founded 28 years ago by Hagerstown philanthropist Art Richards to help local children living in poverty graduate from high school and develop a sense of belonging. Richards was inspired to start the nonprofit after learning that impoverished local twins were sharing limited clothing to attend school, Wedd said. The nonprofit now offers a scholarship in Richards’ name to clients who graduate from high school and attend local colleges or trade schools.
Every disadvantaged Washington County child is eligible to visit Children in Need’s 131 W. North Ave. headquarters once per month to pick up needed items during set hours: Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon, the second Monday of every month from 5:30-8 p.m., and the fourth Saturday of every month from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
The nonprofit accepts donations of gently-used clothing (newborn to adult 2X), toiletries and new school supplies Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon.
Wedd said that the center’s biggest need right now is winter coats, and it always needs boys’ pants. It recently held its annual Soles of Hope shoe drive, netting about 2,200 new pairs of shoes. The nonprofit will hold its annual Frosty Fest in December where disadvantaged youth and their families can connect with area resources, enjoy hot cocoa and cookies, and pick out age-appropriate toys.
