Based out of a residential garage for five years after a simple request for a cooler, Just Because Inc. has touched the lives of thousands of people battling hunger and poverty, not only in Farmers Branch, but also the DFW metroplex.
The modest non-profit has since generated impactful partnerships with Hanes and Bombas, handing out over 80,000 pairs of socks, as well as solidifying its place in Farmers Branch's community of willing volunteers.
Founder and Creator of Kindness, Kissy Sarine-Van Brunt began the non-profit Just Because Inc. in 2018, after encountering an unhoused woman on her way home from the grocery store. Instead of providing a quick solution like food, money, or water, the woman was asked what she wished she had; she responded with needing a cooler. Why? To keep her food cold.
For many people, the idea of keeping food chilled does not present much of a difficulty. However, for Sarine-Van Brunt, this was an inspiring encounter. “It changed a lot of perspectives,” she said.
Many pre-conceived biases and opinions surround the homeless community, but “the narrative as to why people have become unhoused, more often than not, isn’t the truth,” said Sarine-Van Brunt.
The motivator for Just Because can be found in its name: Lending a helping hand to someone just because you can.
“We want to be able to have the flexibility to be able to help in any way we can,” explained Sarine-Van Brunt, when asked about who the non-profit seeks to serve.
Just Because supports the unhoused, the “grand-friends” as Sarine-Van Brunt calls them, children at Title 1 schools, pet shelters and anyone who needs a splash of kindness.
“Our priorities and those that we serve, it changes,” said Sarine-Van Brunt. “When there’s a need, or [if] someone comes to us… we do our best to do what we can.”
When Sarine-Van Brunt described how empathy was born on Just Because’s first mission, she thought to herself, “this might be a thing.” The mission statement, “To see all, as they are. To touch hearts without an agenda. The share kindness, Just Because,” followed.
Hundreds of selfless volunteers and zero employees keep Just Because moving, Sarine-Van Brunt said. Fifteen to 20 volunteers show up on any given workday.
“Those hundred may not show up on the Sunday workday, but they are doing projects for us,” Sarine-Van Brunt said. “I had 900 hygiene kits sitting on my porch,” all of which were donated from members of the community and volunteers of Just Because.
“Farmers Branch is a community that shows up for each other,” said Sarine-Van Bunt. The biggest demographic of volunteers: the community of mothers.
Volunteer Alex Wofford pointed out how “ is just so grassroots. It really just started from literally just a couple of Farmers Branch locals.”
Wofford said the non-profit has her family excited to volunteer since they began showing up in 2018.
Wofford and her family found out about Just Because “mostly through the Farmer’s Branch mom’s group,” she said. “It’s super hyper local. It feels like you’re making a direct impact in the community where you live.”
“We have so many moms… are a force,” exclaimed Sarine-Van Brunt. The community is “taking care of an organization they see value in.”
Volunteers like donate necessities such as deodorant, toothpaste, feminine products and socks.
“Over the past couple years, a huge focus has been hygiene kits to students attending Title 1 schools,” said Sarine-Van Brunt. Many children do not have proper access to necessary hygiene items she said.
Wofford described volunteering as an assembly line that her husband and children could be part of too.
“We would just come to her house every couple of weeks and make a couple hundred of those” hygiene kits, Wofford said. “Everything will be laid out on the table… and there’s usually several other families there too,” she said. Wofford said it feels productive.
Just Because aims to provide those necessities to as many children as possible in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, not just Farmers Branch. Hygiene Kits typically include socks, deodorant, and hand wipes.
“Young ladies have feminine hygiene included,” said Sarine-Van Brunt.
People who are unhoused receive blessing bags.
During the summer, blessing bags are stocked with “socks, sunscreen, bottled water, some sort of protein, a soft granola bar… applesauce. Something that can provide immediate nourishment,” said Sarine-Van Brunt.
Just Because also provides a big blessing bd twice a year and distributes “more than 25,000 hygiene items a year,” said Sarine-Van Brunt. “The fair thing to say is that we are constantly doing the best we can.”
“We pass them out to homeless neighbors, and we also have taken big boxes to the elementary schools,” said Wofford. “It feels good to know you actually made a difference.”
Since Summer 2023, Just Because operates out of the Metrocrest Services building located off of Josey Lane as a community partner, which provided many benefits for Just Because.
Volunteers appreciate, “ air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter… the space, being able to utilize all of our things, not having damage to our items… it has been wonderful. We are so grateful,” said Sarine-Van Brunt.
Wofford explained how much more space is available at Metrocrest Services, which has made “it easy to work on multiple projects at once and not have to completely take over Krissy’s home.” Volunteers work in the large warehouse, as well as the large room located in the main area of the building.
Being a 501(c)3 means no person profits from the work and allows Just Because to benefit from partnerships.
“Just Because isn’t here because one person or three people. It’s because there have been so many people that have rallied behind it,” said Sarine-Van Brunt.
“We have a partnership with Hanes. We have a partnership with Bombas. It’s extended to companies that see what we’re doing and believe and want to support us,” said Sarine-Van Brunt. “Hanes and Bombas are our two big partners, along with the unconditional love and support of the city.”
Just Because’s partnership with Hanes has allowed the non-profit to contribute to the #HanesSock Drive, which donates socks and underwear to over 3.5 million unhoused people each year. With Bombas, the non-profit has been able to provide over 8,000 pairs of socks to those in need.