Mission and Vision
At Bubbe’s Closet, our mission is to provide a resource for clothing and small household items for Anne Arundel County families in transition or experiencing hardship. Our goal is to partner with local organizations that work directly with community members to help fill emergency requests, requests for urgently needed items, and to cosponsor targeted campaigns to help serve the needs of the community.
About Bubbe’s Closet
Bubbe’s Closet was founded to honor the spirit of service and giving of a very special Grandma (Bubbe). When I think of Grandma’s house I think of it as a place of shelter, kindness and love. Grandma always has what you need from an extra pair of socks to a hug when you really need one. Grandma is there to offer a helping hand in times of need and that’s what we at Bubbe’s closet would like to do for our community.
Bubbe’s closet will be a feeder for other local organizations. We will be working with community members to collect gently used clothing and small household items such as kitchen utensils, bedding, and linens. We aim to be able to serve those in transition, starting over or just experiencing a rough patch.
A Note From the Founder
The “Bubbe” who inspired Bubbe’s Closet is my mom, Irma Vanderpool. My mom had a passion for giving back to her community. She dedicated 32 years of service providing entertainment and activities to veterans in her role as Activities Director at the Chelsea Soldiers Home in Chelsea, MA. She also was very involved in her local community volunteering with organizations including the Friends of the Charlestown Library and donating to charitable organizations such as the ASPC, VFW and many others. In 2017, when she learned she was going to be a grandmother, a dream she had been holding onto for many years, she left her lifelong home in Massachusetts to be closer to her family in Annapolis, MD. She embraced her new community, continuing her spirit of giving and volunteerism through joining the New Annapolitans group, where she helped organize the events and through involvement with her local community’s Jewish group.
Her grandchildren, Emalyn and Dylan brought her such joy. I see so much of her in my daughter Emalyn. They are both artistic, have a love of animals, fashion, and shopping. Dylan’s antics and funny personality always had her laughing. My mom, in her retirement, learned to fully enjoy and embrace life and shared that with my children. Unfortunately, in the summer of 2020, her health took a turn for the worse and she left us in August. I am grateful for the time she spent getting to know her grandchildren. Although they are both so young, they still speak of her often and remember her with so much love. As for me, I wanted to find a way to honor not only her memory but her lifelong commitment to service. Bubbe’s Closet, a nod to my mother’s enthusiasm for shopping and her own overflowing closet, allows me to carry on that commitment to service and community and to carry on her legacy.
Mission
At Bubbe’s Closet, our mission is to provide a resource for clothing and small household items for Anne Arundel County families in transition or experiencing hardship. Our goal is to partner with local organizations that work directly with community members to help fill emergency requests, requests for urgently needed items, and to cosponsor targeted campaigns to help serve the needs of the community.
Mission and Vision
At Bubbe’s Closet, our mission is to provide a resource for clothing and small household items for Anne Arundel County families in transition or experiencing hardship. Our goal is to partner with local organizations that work directly with community members to help fill emergency requests, requests for urgently needed items, and to cosponsor targeted campaigns to help serve the needs of the community.
About Bubbe’s Closet
Bubbe’s Closet was founded to honor the spirit of service and giving of a very special Grandma (Bubbe). When I think of Grandma’s house I think of it as a place of shelter, kindness and love. Grandma always has what you need from an extra pair of socks to a hug when you really need one. Grandma is there to offer a helping hand in times of need and that’s what we at Bubbe’s closet would like to do for our community.
Bubbe’s closet will be a feeder for other local organizations. We will be working with community members to collect gently used clothing and small household items such as kitchen utensils, bedding, and linens. We aim to be able to serve those in transition, starting over or just experiencing a rough patch.
A Note From the Founder
The “Bubbe” who inspired Bubbe’s Closet is my mom, Irma Vanderpool. My mom had a passion for giving back to her community. She dedicated 32 years of service providing entertainment and activities to veterans in her role as Activities Director at the Chelsea Soldiers Home in Chelsea, MA. She also was very involved in her local community volunteering with organizations including the Friends of the Charlestown Library and donating to charitable organizations such as the ASPC, VFW and many others. In 2017, when she learned she was going to be a grandmother, a dream she had been holding onto for many years, she left her lifelong home in Massachusetts to be closer to her family in Annapolis, MD. She embraced her new community, continuing her spirit of giving and volunteerism through joining the New Annapolitans group, where she helped organize the events and through involvement with her local community’s Jewish group.
Her grandchildren, Emalyn and Dylan brought her such joy. I see so much of her in my daughter Emalyn. They are both artistic, have a love of animals, fashion, and shopping. Dylan’s antics and funny personality always had her laughing. My mom, in her retirement, learned to fully enjoy and embrace life and shared that with my children. Unfortunately, in the summer of 2020, her health took a turn for the worse and she left us in August. I am grateful for the time she spent getting to know her grandchildren. Although they are both so young, they still speak of her often and remember her with so much love. As for me, I wanted to find a way to honor not only her memory but her lifelong commitment to service. Bubbe’s Closet, a nod to my mother’s enthusiasm for shopping and her own overflowing closet, allows me to carry on that commitment to service and community and to carry on her legacy.
A Note From the Founder
The “Bubbe” who inspired Bubbe’s Closet is my mother, Irma Vanderpool. My mom had a passion for giving back to the community. She dedicated 32 years of service providing entertainment and activities to veterans in her role as Activities Director at the Chelsea Soldiers Home in Chelsea Massachusetts. She was also very involved in her local community, volunteering with local organizations including the Friends of the Charlestown Library and donating to charitable organizations such as the ASPCA, VFW, and others.
In 2017 she learned she was going to be a grandmother, a dream she had been holding onto for many years. She left her lifelong home in Massachusetts to be closer to her family in Annapolis, Maryland. Bubbe embraced her new community, continuing her spirit of giving and volunteerism through joining the New Annapolitans group where she helped organize events, and through involvement with her local community’s Jewish group.
Her grandchildren, Emalyn and Dylan brought her such joy. I see so much of her in my daughter Emalyn. They are both artistic, and have a love of animals, fashion, and shopping. And Dylan’s antics and funny personality always had her laughing. My mom in her retirement learned to fully enjoy and embrace life and shared that with my children.
Unfortunately, in the summer of 2020 her health took a turn for the worse and she left us in August. I am grateful for the time she spent getting to know her grandchildren. Although they are both so young, they still speak of her often and remember her with so much love. As for me, I wanted to find a way to honor not only her memory but her lifelong commitment to service. Bubbe’s Closet, a nod to my mother’s enthusiasm for shopping and her own overflowing closet, allows me to carry on that commitment to service and community and to carry on her legacy.
Board of Directors
Alyssa Darr — Founder and President
Alyssa founded Bubbe’s Closet in 2021 to honor the legacy of her mom Irma who instilled in her the importance of community involvement. Alyssa is a Regulatory Affairs consultant with expertise in biologics and drug development. She received her JD from Suffolk University Law School and her BA from Macquarie University.
Alyssa began volunteering as a young girl helping her mom run events at the Chelsea Soldier’s Home. She has volunteered with community organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Cradles to Crayons and previously served as President and VP of Volunteer Activities for the Boston Junior Chamber (Jaycees).
Alyssa enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, traveling, and reading when she can find the time. She lives in Annapolis, MD.
C. Charity Aitken — Secretary
Charity is an expert in Regulatory Affairs, CMC and has successfully led the CMC development for several new drugs through to marketing approval. Charity holds an ASC accredited BS in Chemistry from Montana Tech.
She is an active member of her community, participating in various social and volunteer organizations. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and traveling.
Charity lives outside of Seattle in Mercer Island, WA.
Erika Kissinger — Director
Erika comes to Bubbe’s Closet with over 10 years of experience in the nonprofit world working with organizations such as Feeding America, APSCA, amfAR, and The Cronh’s and Colitis Foundation of America to help meet constituent management and fundraising goals. She has served as a marketing and communications consultant volunteer for the Taproot Foundation, an organization that seeks to provide nonprofit support with the help of pro bono services.
She spent the last three years living in Amsterdam with her family of four where she learned new skills in writing and now works as an editor in the publishing industry.
Erika lives in Annapolis, MD.
Lisa Mitchell — Treasurer
Lisa has over two decades’ experience in early childhood development and education. She currently works as a para-professional aiding elementary school children reach their full potential. She has previously held roles working in and leading childhood learning centers. Lisa focused her education in early childhood development and continues to expand her knowledge and skillset through on the job training and development opportunities.
Lisa has extensive experience in the nonprofit and community service space. She served as Den Leader for her son’s Cub Scout den for 8 years. She held roles as President, Vice President, and Secretary of her children’s school PTO for 4 years. She served as a Secretary and Vice President of a non-profit group whose mission was to create a recreation center in her hometown. Lisa also participated in a moms group that delivered meals to families experiencing hardship. With a passion for service, Lisa is always looking for new ways to help others, and is honored to help make Bubbe’s Closet a success.
Lisa lives in Townsend, MA.
AnnAlrecth— Director
Ann has over two decades experience assisting C-level executives in diverse industries including biotech, venture capital, strategic marketing and non-profit. In 2021 she started her own consulting firm, Ann Albrecht Consulting, to help executives be as productive and impactful as possible. She received a B.S. in General Management and a M.S.M. in Non-Profit Management from Lesley University.
Ann currently sits on the board of Bubbe’s Closet as Secretary and is current member of the Lesley University – Business Management Division Alumni Advisory Board. In the past she has held board positions with East African Center for the Empowerment of Women and Children (EAC), Boston Junior Chamber, Massachusetts Junior Chamber, and as a past National Vice President with the United States Junior Chamber (US Jaycees).
Ann resides in Salem, MA.