Matrona opens a new spot in Butler
Kelly Hanson and Rob Gillgrist “crashed a meeting” of ministers from the Butler area in 2025, right around the time that Saint Andrews United Presbyterian Church was clearing out space in its basement.
A few months later, Hanson filed paperwork to make the ministry she had been running out of Cabot United Methodist Church in Winfield Township since 2022 an official nonprofit. A few months after that, Matrona Family Resource Center opened its second location at Saint Andrews, which offers children’s clothing to families in need, but with the larger mission of creating a communal space for the people who come in search of supplies.
Hanson, children’s ministry director and lead volunteer for Matrona Family Resource Center, said she and Gillgrist, pastor of Oak Hills Christian Church in Penn Township, had wanted to create a community center in an area more walkable than Cabot.
“We saw a lot of our families were coming from Butler... We saw some families were getting rides from their insurance to come see us or who were getting Ubers to come see us,” Hanson said on Wednesday, July 1. “We want families to feel like yes, they can come and shop, but they can also come and shop, get to know each other, get to know us and we want to give that sense of community.”
The new Matrona location is in the bottom floor of Saint Andrews, via its entrance on South Cliff Street. The Butler location opened Oct. 8 and now has hangers and racks filled with clothing, from baby sizes up to size 18, according to Hanson.
She said the focus was on providing clothing to parents, but also providing those parents with other supplies they might need to stock a home with children. So the room also contains toys and games, plus diapers and furniture that can be helpful to parents of young children.
And it’s all stock that has been donated by people, some of whom who have come in to get clothes for their children.
“Never underestimate people's desire to get rid of the kids' stuff,” Hanson said. “People really love getting rid of baby toys and clothes out of their house.
“What we do see a lot of is families bringing in their old, outgrown things and taking in new things. So we see families almost trading back and forth.”
All of the clothes and items given to Matrona are washed and cleaned by volunteers, so people who shop for their items know that “what they're getting is not trash,” Hanson said.
Matrona doesn’t have any income requirements for families to get free clothing from its racks. Hanson said new visitors usually only provide contact information so they can see where people are coming from.
Matrona in Butler is open from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Hanson said the Butler location has gotten around 10 to 15 people per week since it opened in October.
Attendance at the nonprofit closet is aided by the Butler Community Meals distribution, Gillgrist said, which takes place at Saint Andrews every Wednesday afternoon. People get food in the bottom floor of the church and then can wander back to Matrona for clothing should they need it.
“Being here is fantastic because of the community meals,” Gillgrist said.
Just like at the Winfield Township location, Matrona in Butler is set up like a makeshift clothing shop, where families can pick out what they want and “check out” with Hanson. According to Hanson, this format helps give families who come to the shop the feeling of some agency in their choices, further creating a community feeling through the nonprofit.
Merry Meloy, pastor of Saint Andrews United Presbyterian Church, said Wednesday evenings have become like community nights at the church, with the Community Meals feeding people and Matrona providing them with other needs. Hanson said the church is providing its space to Matrona for free.
Meloy commented the church has a history of community outreach, which the addition of Matrona fits right into.
“There is a natural synergy with Matrona,” Meloy said. “We would love for folks who come to Community Meals to go to Matrona.”
After Matrona started making a name for itself in the Butler church, the nonprofit introduced another organization into the fold to provide additional support to people. Safe Families for Children is somewhat of a loose activity group for youths and parents which has meetings in the Butler Matrona location each Wednesday.
Katie Donahy, with Bethany Christian Services, said she provides coloring supplies, building blocks and other toys for children to play with as their parents shop the racks.
“We want to give the moms the resource of each other” Donahy said. “They can befriend people who they see, have fun with each other.”
Hanson said getting people connected to resources is one of the top missions for Matrona. She said that while people are in Matrona, she talks to them about what other needs they might have so she can make the place even more of a resource center than it already is.
“As we're checking out, I do try to make sure I am talking to them about what other needs they have. Rre there other concerns that are going on in their lives? We also let them know about other events that are going on,” Hanson said.
For more information on Matrona, including its hours and location, visit its website at matrona.org.
