Photo / Courtesy Pink Feather Foundation
Pink Feather houses about 15,000 items for 16 schools.
Updated: June 5, 2025
After six moves, Oxford nonprofit launches fundraiser for permanent home
Photo / Courtesy Pink Feather Foundation
Jen Kyllonen, seen here at a sorting facility, co-founded Pink Feather Foundation to provide clothing and accessories to students in need.
An Oxford nonprofit that provides clothing and accessories to students in need has kicked off a “Forever Home” campaign to fund construction of a permanent warehouse and sorting facility.
"We’ve always operated from donated or rented spaces,” said Jen Kyllonen, the co-founder of Pink Feather Foundation. “In the last seven years, we’ve moved six times, due to various reasons — either our space was sold or the owners who had generously allowed us to use their space at little or no cost, had other needs.”
Each move required the nonprofit to put its services on hold as it settle sinto a new space.
“In our most recent move last fall, we secured a temporary space that allows for storage and packaging, but limits the full operation of our program,” she said.
The plan is to build the headquarters on land donated at 67 King St. in Oxford.
Eric Hallee, owner of Eco-Pro Construction in Harrison, has donated his project management services to the effort. The plan calls for a construction a 4,800-square-foot building.
Every member of the board has committed to making a financial contribution to the building fund.
At a kickoff event in May, Norway Savings Bank presented Pink Feather with a $10,000 donation.
Photo / Courtesy Norway Savings Bank
Norway Savings Bank’s Dan Walsh is third from right. From left are Pink Feather’s Heath Poland, Chris Delamater, Paula Thayer, Jen Kyllonen, Mark Bancroft, Joni Gordon and Marc Hallee.
“The organization was founded on the belief that fulfilling these basic needs at no cost would immediately improve students’ lives and allow them to be prepared to achieve their full potential,” said Dan Walsh, the bank’s president and CEO.
The campaign goal and the construction timeline haven’t been established yet. Other anonymous gifts have come in. To date, just under $100,000 has been raised.
15,000 items
Established in 2011, Pink Feather Foundation works to improve the lives of students by partnering with teachers to confidentially provide clothing and accessories at no cost. The foundation — serving two school districts (MSAD 17 AND RSU 16) in Oxford and Androscoggin counties — envisions all students having the clothing and accessories they need to be confident, engaged and prepared to achieve their full potential.
Teachers contact Pink Feather and are granted access to a shopping portal where they can explore items with a student in need from donations of new and like-new items. The clothing is then delivered to their school’s main office.
Photo / Courtesy Pink Feather Foundation
Sadie Kyllonen prepares a package.
Establishing a permanent home would allow for Pink Feather to expand its reach, said Kyllonen.
By late 2017, the nonprofit had evolved into a clothing program.
The nonprofit’s latest location has been at 83 Pleasant St. in Oxford. But the space isn’t large enough to process clothing and arranged for the online portal, she said. The foundation houses about 15,000 items for 16 schools. The items include donated jackets, pants, shirts, shorts and shoes, with socks and underwear bought new.
This year, the foundation sent clothing packages to 264 children. The need remains pressing.
“We’ve definitely seen a spike,” said Kyllonen.
The foundation is developing a dedicated campaign page on its website. Artwork inside the building will be dedicated to donors, with smaller hearts for donations of $25 and feathers starting at $1,000 and up.
The name “pink feather” comes from a “ladies night out” tradition of wearing pink feather boas leaving feathers wherever they went.
“We put a pink feather sticker on every package we send,” she said. “It says that we hope it makes a change in that child’s life.”
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