Today, she has enough donations to fill a large storage area in her home.
“It just took off,” she said. “It keeps growing.”
Townsend is the founder of Hope’s Closet, which gives away clothing and accessories such as belts and purses to people in need. She chose the name Hope’s Closet because “I like to give people hope.”
She got the idea for Hope’s Closet three years ago when she was volunteering as a receptionist at Voices Recovery Center, an addiction treatment center in Binghamton.
“My son is in recovery,” she said. “This is my opportunity to pay it forward.”