An Interview With Maria Angelova
People of all ages love to volunteer. Kids love helping just as much as adults. In fact, a lot of our collection drives are led by school-aged kids, elementary through high-school. We love to see kids helping kids, and this also inspires adults to get involved.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Catherine Maloy.
Catherine Maloy is a proud mother of two kids — a son and daughter. When her daughter was a toddler, she loved Christmas trees because they made her “feel happy.” However, she could not pronounce “Christmas tree,” instead calling it a “Cocotree!” Cocotree Kids was born out of wanting to make others feel happy too. Catherine is passionate about the well-being of the whole child. She believes that kids are at their best when they feel confident and comfortable in their own skin. She founded Cocotree Kids on the premise that all kids deserve the dignity and self-respect of feeling clean and supported with proper undergarments. Catherine spent 14 years at Deloitte in Consulting and Human Resources roles and holds a BA in Economics and Spanish from Connecticut College.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Like most people, the pandemic left an indelible mark on me. Seeing images of so many people who needed help struck me in an irreversible way. I knew there must be something I could do, even during a time when everything seemed outside of anyone’s control. I learned that there was a need for clean underwear for kids in the state of Massachusetts, so I decided to help by collecting underwear with my neighbors and family. I soon realized that the need was much bigger than my small collection could address. So, I left my job at Deloitte — which I loved for 14 years — to be with my two children (ages 10 and 7) and started Cocotree Kids in May 2021.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
Underwear is often overlooked and rarely donated because it has to be new — unlike clothing or shoes that can be gently used. It’s been interesting how quickly our mission has resonated with people. In only 18 months, we have distributed over 40,000 pairs of underwear across Massachusetts, and next year we will do much more!
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Managing inventory is harder than it looks! My team and I laugh about this now, but at the beginning when we started to see a real uptick in community support for Cocotree Kids, there were so many collection drives to manage with thousands of pairs of underwear coming in. At the time, we did not have an inventory management system in place. It was just me and some friends counting and sorting underwear in my basement. The funny thing was how many times this group of educated, successful women would lose track of counts and have to start over! We learned from this and, leveraging our respective professional backgrounds, today we have a sophisticated data and inventory management process.
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
Cocotree Kids’ mission is to provide underwear to underserved and at-risk youth. But it’s really about more than just underwear. There is no rulebook on how to make a social impact. It boils down to empathy. For Cocotree Kids, a simple idea collect underwear for kids in need causes a lightbulb to go off. The first reaction is usually, “Really? Why underwear?” The explanation reveals the overlooked but major challenges many children experience and evokes real empathy — a lack of laundry facilities, gently used underwear cannot be donated like clothing or shoes, underwear is costly for a family experiencing financial hardship, etc. A deeper understanding of the realities of poverty sparks an important conversation about the basic needs that many of us take for granted and lights a fire to help those less fortunate. Positive social change starts with emotion and understanding. When you think about how mortifying it must be for a child not to have access to underwear — an essential, basic human need — and decide to help, that is the first step to how we can collectively learn more, help more and drive change.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
One of the first places I delivered underwear to was a food pantry in Danvers, MA. The pantry director and I were meeting to discuss the need for underwear for the children whose families come for food. We saw a woman going into the adjacent office building and asked if she wouldn’t mind taking a photo. When she asked what we were doing with the underwear and I told her, she started to cry. She said she was homeless as a child and often did not have underwear to wear to school. She could relate to the impact Cocotree Kids would have on children. Another story is about a mother who received underwear from us for her kids. She said that she would much rather give her son new underwear than a toy over the holidays. It’s stories like these that motivate me to keep going, to raise awareness and encourage others to join the effort.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Politics aside, we can all agree that children should have access to basic necessities like underwear. The root of the problem is unequal access, which as a whole does not have an easy fix. But there are ways to shine a light on the outcomes of unequal access, evoke empathy to get people involved and help alleviate some of the challenges for children and families. For example, social media influencers or those with a platform can help their followers understand that people do not choose a life of poverty, and that there are simple but impactful ways that we can help those less fortunate. As a society, we should reflect on what we consider “everyday items” and ask ourselves how we would feel if there was no access to things like underwear, soap, toothpaste, eyeglasses, over-the-counter medicine, etc. Finally, many people are feeling the impact of inflation right now. I hope there could be adjustments to cash assistance programs to help families avoid having to choose between these basic needs and things like shelter and food. By showing up for children in the specific way that Cocotree Kids is, we hope to raise awareness about unequal access and encourage others to show up too.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think this might help people?
Cocotree Kids is still a startup, so everything is new and exciting right now! Our singular focus is providing underwear to kids, so all of our projects and initiatives support that focus. Our current priority is to expand our impact across Massachusetts — and eventually beyond. Meaning, we are working on maturing our operations to support this growth so that we can serve more children efficiently and long-term.
What you are doing is not easy. What inspires you to keep moving forward?
It is not easy to start something new, but the impact of what Cocotree Kids is doing is very fulfilling. There is a special kind of satisfaction and pride when your work is dedicated to helping others. The stories from our partners and the families we serve about our impact inspire us every single day. I am laser focus on delivering on our mission– to protect a child’s dignity by proving them with underwear, and to shed light on the everyday blessings that many of us take for granted. Seeing how our mission resonates with the community keeps me going. I feel in my bones that Cocotree Kids is building something special, helping kids in a very specific way and making a difference.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
I prepared myself in a lot of ways to start Cocotree Kids, but so many concepts did not really “click” until I experienced it myself.
Nonprofits are well-intentioned and mission-oriented but must operate like a business. They are businesses, just a different kind. You still need a clear strategy, a strong team, a budget with defined funding sources and a solid operational plan. My years of experience in the corporate world actually helped me more than I thought when I started Cocotree Kids because I approach business decisions in a similar way.
People of all ages love to volunteer. Kids love helping just as much as adults. In fact, a lot of our collection drives are led by school-aged kids, elementary through high-school. We love to see kids helping kids, and this also inspires adults to get involved.
Fundraising is hard. I have attended and supported several fundraising events over the years, but it’s a different story when you have to set and meet fundraising goals for your own charity.
Delegate and ask for help. It is impossible to do it all on my own, and I am lucky to have such a dedicated team willing to help. In fact, one of the great things I have learned is how many professionals are willing to donate their own skills and talents to help! As a new nonprofit, we have a lot of work to do across many aspects of the business, and it has been wonderful to see how many people have been willing to help. I have learned that I just need to ask.
This is the hardest job I would ever love. The Cocotree Kids team and I are all currently volunteering our time; this is not uncommon for a startup. I have never been so dedicated, motivated and passionate about any job. Aside from being a mom, this is the greatest and hardest job I’ve ever had, and I love every second of it.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I honestly don’t ever think about having “influence.” I just try to lead by example. As a parent, I cannot fathom a child not having access to a basic necessity like underwear. So, if I could inspire one thing, it would be to show empathy. Reflect on the little things in your life that give you comfort, and then give that comfort to someone in need.
I think there is only a very high-level understanding of poverty as a concept -that people need food, water and shelter. But, people, especially children, need much more to feel dignified, clean, and comfortable. Let’s not reduce what we consider “basic necessities” to the bare minimum. There’s much more to it, and people are willing to help.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Do the right thing when no one is looking.” I believe this defines a person’s true character, and it translates into how Cocotree Kids delivers on its mission. We don’t have a flashy or complicated mission — we provide underwear to kids who need it because all children deserve the dignity and comfort of wearing clean underwear that properly fits. We did not expect to experience the amazing support we achieved in a short time, and that’s not why we do this. When I learned about how many kids do not have access to underwear, I had to help. It’s just the right thing to do.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would love to meet the children’s author Dav Pilkey. He wrote the graphic novel series that my and many others’ kids love — Captain Underpants. I would enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with him in some way to possibly come up with age-appropriate content for children to read and understand our mission and encourage them and their families to get involved.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
www.cocotreekids.com; https://www.facebook.com/cocotreekids; https://twitter.com/cocotreekids, https://www.linkedin.com/company/cocotree-kids/; https://www.instagram.com/cocotreekids/
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Catherine Maloy of Cocotree Kids Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.