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03/02/2016 07:30 AMShe’s been inspired by a dad who helped others, and spurred on by a desire to honor the young teen who saved her husband’s life.
Since 2000, Cheryl Motzer has, to date, contributed what’s calculated to be some $2 million in goods, services, time and transportation to help others, mainly through her volunteer support of Branford’s BHcare Clothing Bank.
Cheryl collects, sorts, washes, irons, and delivers thousands of pieces per year. While she’s certainly one of the most productive volunteers ever to assist this program, up until a few weeks ago, no one at the clothing bank even knew her name.
“Someone asked me once, and I said, ‘Just call me Bob,’” says Cheryl, smiling. “I don’t do this for the publicity. I do it because it’s the right thing to do. There were four of us, and my father always said two things: ‘Do the right thing, always, regardless of the consequences,’ and, ‘Know the difference between what you need and what you want. What you need will be provided, and what you want, you’re going to work for.”
It was during an intense time of need in the life of Cheryl’s husband, Chris Motzer, that she experienced how the generosity of others can changes lives. In 1999, the couple was living in Guilford, and Chris was in vital need of a liver transplant. The Motzers traveled to a Florida hospital for his preliminary care.
“We were supposed to go for an assessment, but the hospital discharged him because he was too sick, and he was too sick to go back to Connecticut,” says Cheryl.
The couple needed to stay in Miami, but didn’t have enough money for the unexpected crisis. Word of their plight reach reached their community, and funding quickly arrived to help. Groups including Guilford Rotary added to an outpouring of generosity from individuals and others.
“It was unbelievable,” says Cheryl, who kept donation records and expense receipts and sent notes of thanks to each and every contributor.
“When we were in Miami, we got pushed basically on the street, and we were in the same position that some people are in now—we needed help from others,” says Cheryl. “There’ve been times in everybody’s life, I think, that have been tough times.”
During their time in Miami, Chris’s life was saved by the passing of a young man and the generosity of his grieving family.
“A family donated their son’s liver. He was five days shy of his 16th birthday,” says Cheryl. “That troubled me terribly, having always, my entire life, been involved with kids—as a nurse, as a person, even since I was little kid myself. I wanted to find a way to honor him.”
When Cheryl and Chris returned to Connecticut, the couple, who’d raised their three children in Guilford, downsized to their current home in Northford. While still working in nursing full-time, Cheryl began her unique efforts to help others in need, especially children. She started collecting toys from tag sales to donate to kids. To this day, Cheryl still collects and donates gently used or new toys. As always, battery-operated toys get new batteries and a spare set, at Cheryl’s expense.
“I do that because I feel that when people can’t afford the toy, they can’t afford the batteries,” says Cheryl.
During her tag sale toy patrols, Cheryl began receiving offers of donated clothing.
“People would have clothes and say, ‘Well, if you want them, you can have them after it’s over,’” says Cheryl, who knew where she could bring them. “I knew about the clothing bank in Branford because the Volunteer Services Building on Harrison Avenue was my school when I was a kid.”
Cheryl graduated from Branford High School in 1963 and is a daughter of the late Hank LaCroix, a local Branford business owner. Her dad taught Cheryl to “pay it forward,” she says.
“My father was an oil dealer in this town, and he never ever let anybody go without oil—he just wouldn’t allow anyone to be cold. In the middle of the night, he would go out and deliver oil because somebody ran out, no matter what.”
Whether or not the person could pay for the service wasn’t an issue, she adds.
“Sometimes, he’d bring home stew someone gave him, and one time, he brought home two goats! My mother wasn’t thrilled, but he never had a problem with it,” says Cheryl. “Everybody was the same in his book, and it’s the same with me. And because of him paying it forward, I’ve always been one to pay it forward.”
Today inside the Patricia C. Andriole Volunteer Services building on Harrison Avenue, the clothing bank shares space with non-profit Community Dining Room (CDR) and Branford Food Pantry. Cheryl made her first delivery of cleaned, pressed clothes to the clothing bank in 2000. She’s been returning with more donations ever since.
The bank’s “shopping room” (a nominal fee per adult is charged once per year) is filled with clothes, shoes, and accessories for men, women, and children. What’s even more amazing: the majority of the hundreds of pieces hung from racks, lining walls, covering tables, and filling shelves are delivered by Cheryl.
“After I retired, this became like a job—really, a double job,” Cheryl says, smiling. “I’ve brought thousands and thousands of items. And every piece, I’ve washed and ironed first.”
Cheryl collects clothes donated by contacts she’s made at thrift shops, including Good as New Consignment in Hamden and Mama Bear Consignment Boutique of North Branford, as well as bags of clothes often left at her Northford door. In the past year, Cheryl drove about 3,000 miles to make collection and delivery rounds. She spends hours daily collecting, sorting, washing, ironing, and delivering the clothing.
Through the years, Cheryl’s developed formulas to clean and soften even the most elderly of gorgeous baby clothes, and even one formula that can double for dry cleaning. Cheryl often tacks her cleaning directions for special items, such as wool coats, to donated pieces so the new owners can avoid costly care.
As Cheryl well knows, “The laundry detergent alone is very expensive. I’ve spent as much as $80 or $90 in one week just for laundry detergent, but I go through it like water.”
She also donates toys, DVDs, and other items she collects and cleans. They go to the clothing bank as well as hospitals and other agencies. Additionally, Cheryl helps stock North Branford Police Department cruisers with new or cleaned stuffed animals for responding officers to give children at the scene of distressing incidents.
The Motzer’s house has a room filled with bins storing seasonal clothing that’s ready to go when the weather calls for new inventory. This winter, Cheryl brought 113 bins to the clothing bank at the start of the cold weather season. She’s added an average of two to three bins each week through the season.
Cheryl also specializes in baby layettes (birth to 12 months) and prides herself on channeling in most of the clothing bank’s children’s clothes and shoes. She’ll also bring in specialty items, from prom gowns to blankets. All have been inspected, cleaned, and in most cases, also pressed, by Cheryl.
“Everything is washed and ironed,” says this grandmother of six. “If I wouldn’t put it on my grandchild, I wouldn’t put it on anyone else’s child. I think dignity is so important, and everyone wants to look nice. And if their circumstances are such that they just can’t; then I want to change that for them.”
Right now, the clothing bank “desperately needs new socks for men, women and children,” notes Cheryl, who’s reaching out to department store corporate offices seeking donations. She’s also currently working with several independent local grocery stores and small shops to collect travel-sized personal hygiene items for clientele.
When CDR Executive Director Judy Barron came on board in December 2015, she quickly became aware of the work Cheryl does, and asked her if she might be interested in joining the CDR Board of Directors, if the board agreed. While Cheryl’s used to working behind the scenes, she says she’s been inspired by Judy’s creative efforts to integrate the types of support offered at the Volunteer Services Center. As a result, Cheryl says she would be happy to join the CDR board, should the opportunity arise.
If Cheryl’s volunteer contribution value was gauged by the worth of items she’s collected, cleaned and delivered since 2000, the resulting number would be staggering.
“We figured, as of last June, we did around $2 million worth,” Cheryl says, shaking her head slightly at the astronomical figure.
Asked if she may be wrapping up her endless hours of volunteer effort and truly retire, this perky 71 year-old says she won’t slow down any time soon. Even when she does, it’s hard to imagine anyone—even a small army of volunteers—taking Cheryl’s place.
But, as Cheryl says, “Hopefully, I’ll teach other people.”
The BHcare Clothing Bank provides clothing, linens, footwear, and personal care items to anyone in need for a nominal yearly fee, and is located in the Patricia C. Andriole Volunteer Services Center, 30 Harrison Avenue in Branford. Call 203-483-2643 for more information.