Shepherding those in need.

Our Mission

We provide childhood necessities to diverse families in need through donations and resources while showing God's love to the community.

Our Vision

Our vision is to see every child in our community provided their basic needs to thrive in their homes, schools, and families.

Healthy Kids

When children’s basic needs are met, they can live healthy and full lives.

Confident Parents

Removing financial barriers allows parents the confidence they need to be better care takers.

Happy Homes

Healthy kids and confident parents create all-around happier homes.

  • Where it Started

    When Katie Carter was taking classes to become a foster parent, she learned that some children would come with inadequate clothing. This stirred her to ask friends for donations. The donations became large enough that Katie was then also able to serve other foster parents during a serving day held by Outlook Christian Church.

  • Our Next Phase

    After the original project concluded, Katie saw a need in the community beyond just foster families, and decided to turn her focus to all children. Lambswear officially became a 501c3 in March 2013 and she continues her efforts today.

  • Company Growth

    Once Lambswear changed its focus to any child in need, local schools and social service workers began filling out orders for the children they served. Online ordering became available for families as well. Katie’s small back room became too small and much of the process of filling orders moved to her mom, Patty Strother’s home, right across the street!

  • City Expansion

    Every year since, Lambswear has had the opportunity to serve a larger number of children in a larger area of the city. Delivery drivers began volunteering to meet with clients at various locations around the city so families could pick up their items closer to where they lived.

  • New Location

    In January of 2016, Lambswear moved to its current location on the city’s Northeast side of Indianapolis to allow for current and future growth. As of 2023, Lambswear has served over 24,000 bags of clothing to families in Indianapolis and surrounding counties, and can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Meet the Lambswear Team

More than half of our board has been with Lambswear for over 8 years!

  • Katie has always had a passion for children, especially those in need. She owned and operated an in-home daycare and rallied around children needing extra services in their early years. She went on to become a licensed foster parent in 2012 and over 9 years cared for 22 children and eventually adopted 2 amazing boys!

    All of her children were medically fragile which led her to her next step in life. She is now employed at Riley Children's Hospital in the Emergency Department helping families on their hardest days. She has headed back to school to pursue a degree in healthcare so she can continue to work with children while continuing to support the important community needs of Lambswear.

  • Patty has been active with children all of her adult life. She and Dave, her husband of almost 50 years, are the parents of three grown daughters, one of them being Lambswear’s Founder, Katie! They are the grandparents of 13 grandchildren and now have great grandchildren. Patty owned and operated an in-home daycare for 23 years. For over 6 years she ran a children's ministry at her church to offer one-on-one assistance to children with special needs or behavioral issues, during their Sunday morning services. As a board member for Lambswear Inc., she offers her business experience and guidance as they reach out to help children and family get clothing, support and encouragement.

  • Mary has always had a passion for computers and children. She has a bachelor’s in IT Business Information Systems. She is married and has 1 son. In the past, she and her husband fostered over 14 children. Because of her love of children and technology, she wanted to help Katie and Patty with Lambswear where her 2 passions meet.

  • Originally from Mississippi, Lynne Cowan lives in Indianapolis with her husband Matt and has one adult son. With an accounting degree from Ball State University and an MBA from Anderson University, she works as a Director of Finance for Roche Diagnostics. She loves spending time with her family, friends and pets, traveling, playing strategy board games, and attending Grace Fishers Church. Her passion for helping others has led her to go on mission trips, teach children at church, assist in fundraising for a pet rescue, and now manage the finances for Lambswear Inc.

  • Lisa has always had a love of helping others and a heart to serve those that feel lost and marginalized. She lives in Fishers with her husband, Jack, and two of their five children who are all originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee. They operate their own IT consulting company where they work with global organizations to expand and deploy infrastructure services.

    Lisa is very active in Heartland Church where she participates in the Outreach Ministry, is a member of the Legacy Team and the Baptism Team, and volunteers to provide back-office support for church staff. After volunteering weekly for Lambswear, she fell in love with the mission and the clients they serve. As Director of Support Services, she hopes to use her business experience to bring processes and ideas from the private sector world to help Lambswear run efficiently and expand as the organization grows its ministry.

  • Betty Watkins was born and raised in Indianapolis and graduated from Ozark Bible College. She and her late husband, Mark, high school sweethearts, married and raised three daughters. She’s a staunch NASCAR and NFL Football fan and loves spending time with her family. Betty retired from a 40-year career in office work, including Administrative Assistant for Outlook Christian Church.

    After retirement, she felt God wanted her to get busy and do something! She was very familiar with Lambswear so after being asked to be their Board secretary, she began her new ministry to serve the children of Indianapolis and surrounding counties in providing clothing, coats, underwear, socks and shoes to those in need in a non-threatening, loving way.

  • Melanie is a native Hoosier from Greenfield, Indiana. She graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Her love of children led her to work at Riley Hospital for Children for 6 years as a Registered Nurse. She now works for a family business, and is married to her high-school sweetheart, Nick. They have an 11 year old, Ellie. Melanie loves serving the families and children of the greater Indy area in tangible ways through Lambswear. She manages the Lambswear Facebook page and is excited to be part of the Lambswear Board.

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