CRANBERRY TWP — Mothers who struggle to pay for rent, utilities, food, medicine and other expenses in a time of rising prices saw respite on Friday, March 15, thanks to a local Eagle Scout.

Emerson Cushing, a member of the all-girl Scouts BSA Troop 405, said she has sisters who are 1 and 3 years old, so she understands the expense of buying clothing for children over and over as they grow.

Because that process can stress the budgets of families, she decided to coordinate an event to relieve that burden for a day.

The Kids Clothing Swap & Shop was held in two sessions on Friday, March 15, at the Cranberry Township Elks Lodge on Route 19.

Parents could bring in gently used clothing ahead of time to swap, and pick up the same number of items at the event, or they could just come and shop for donated clothing in sizes from newborn to 16.

Emerson wondered if Moraine Trails Council would approve her project, as most Eagle Scout projects involve a small construction project that benefits the community.

“That’s not who I am as a person,” said Emerson, who worked both the daytime and evening shopping sessions in her Scouts BSA uniform.

She had to create a proposal for the event and submit it to Moraine Trails Council officials, and was concerned they would rather see her build something like other scouts.

“Within an hour, it got approved,” Emerson said.

The Seneca Valley Senior High School senior spent about 20 hours during the week of the sale sorting donated clothes and counting swapped items so the mothers who delivered them would get a voucher for that number of items.

“We’re not being real strict about the vouchers,” Emerson said. “I know the struggle of buying clothing and how expensive it can be.”

Emerson reached out to Connected Nest, a nonprofit community support group for parents, to help with the Swap & Shop.

Megan Shane, executive director of Connected Nest, checked parents in alongside Emerson on the day of the event.

Shane said Emerson’s mother is part of Empowering Moms, a Connected Nest support program for moms just starting their parenting journey.

Many of the shoppers at the Swap & Shop, Shane said, were moms who attend one of the weekly support meetings held by Connected Nest.

She said Emerson’s Eagle Scout project resulted in more than 10,000 items of clothing swapped and donated for the event.

The $1,000 in proceeds from the 150 people who bought items at the Swap & Shop benefit Connected Nest.

“She wanted to give back to her community instead of building a structure, and that builds the community,” Shane said.

Most items at the sale were priced at $1, she said.

“Clothing shopping is one of the most challenging aspects of raising kids, because they change sizes all the time,” Shane said, “so giving families more accessible options takes a huge burden off for parents.”

Holly Healy, of Zelienople, has two young boys to clothe. She carefully perused the clothing at the Swap & Sale before plopping selections on the “buy” pile.

“He’ll probably outgrow his pants before we get to the car,” Healy said of her son Luke Eslinger, 20 months, who is in the 96th percentile for height among boys his age.

“I’m always looking for clothes for the kids because they go through them so fast,” she said of Luke and his baby brother, Oliver, 2 months.

Healy has attended Empowering Moms group meetings and cannot say enough about Connected Nest and their care for local mothers.

“If I could tell every mom in the world about it, I would,” she said.

Kristen Bollman, of Beaver County, also heard about the Swap and Shop through Connected Nest.

“It’s getting into a new season and we have zero (warm-weather) clothes,” she said.

Bollman shopped for clothing in sizes 18 to 24 months for her son, and newborn clothing for the baby who will arrive in a few months.

“I plan on having more, so I’m collecting,” she said.

Casandra Carlucci, of Harmony, also heard about the Swap & Shop through Connected Nest. She shopped for her 16-month-old son, Paxton.

She said when Paxton was born, she received lots of great newborn clothing, but nothing bigger.

Carlucci appreciated the Swap & Shop and went through every item of boys clothing on the table.

“It’s awesome,” she said. “I think it’s great to bring the community together and to be able to come out and look for clothes.”

Emerson was thrilled with the turnout for the first-time event.

“It’s important to be helping those who need it,” she said.

Any leftover clothing after the Swap & Shop was donated to Victory Family Church in Cranberry for a program for the needy there.

More information on Connected Nest and its programs, which are held in Zelienople, Mars and Bellevue, Allegheny County, is available at connectednest.org.