Partnering for Progress: 66 Express Community Spotlight

Highlighting Local Organizations Driving Positive Change in the Region

Boxes of Basics

Providing Clothes (and Confidence) for Prince William’s Kids

Few things make a child feel better than going to school dressed in new, clean, good-looking clothing. That’s what makes the work that Boxes of Basics does so important: Because they help kids feel good about themselves.

Boxes of Basics is a Manassas-based nonprofit founded in 2018 by Sarah Tyndall, a local mom of two. She recognized the magnitude of clothing insecurity among schoolchildren across Prince William County – and the detrimental effect that clothing insecurity has on kids’ self-esteem – and decided to do something about it.

The impact of Boxes of Basics grew quickly. In that first year, the nonprofit packed 43 boxes of clothing, books, and personal hygiene supplies for local kids. By 2021, that number grew tenfold to 450 and has shot up every year since, to 2,185 boxes packed in 2024 – a 54% increase over the previous year.

Those boxes were packed courtesy of 1,473 volunteers dedicating 3,560 hours with Boxes of Basics, allowing the organization to benefit students at 91 schools throughout Fairfax, Fauquier, and Prince William Counties, and the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.

And while supporting local children in need, Boxes of Basics’ work in 2024 also prevented more than 29,000 pounds of clothing from getting dumped at our local landfills, which gives those clothes a new life and helps protect our environment.

The positive impact that Boxes of Basics makes within our community continues to grow. In late 2023, Boxes of Basics christened a new, larger warehouse and distribution facility in Manassas. As 2025 begins, the nonprofit is seeking to expand operations to help more schoolkids in Fauquier County, Virginia.

Driving Positive Change Together

We at I-66 Express Mobility Partners (I-66EMP) have been proud to call Boxes of Basics a community partner in Northern Virginia since late 2022, soon after the 66 Express Outside the Beltway fully opened to the public.

A consistent supporter of the organization’s mission, I-66 EMP has been an annual Silver Sponsor since Boxes of Basics debuted its corporate sponsorship program in 2023.  In 2025, I-66 EMP also stepped in to sponsor the organization’s annual fundraising gala, Dueling Keys for a Cause.

Beyond financial support, I-66 EMP holds annual winter clothing drives to benefit Boxes of Basics and the kids they help. Through three drives held between 2022 and 2024, I-66 EMP amassed approximately 400 articles of winter clothing to suit local boys and girls of all ages and sizes.

Our employees have also taken time to volunteer for Boxes of Basics. As of January 2025, I-66 EMP has contributed more than 50 in-kind volunteering hours since the community partnership began, packing hundreds of boxes to be given to children throughout the region.

“We chose Boxes of Basics as one of our first community partners because of the incredible work Sarah and her team do, and the amazing impact they create,” said Nancy H. Smith, corporate affairs director for I-66 EMP. “Boxes of Basics is a pivotal not-for-profit charitable organization serving our region, and we look forward to supporting their mission well into the future.”

Since Boxes of Basics was founded, the organization has quickly become a true pillar of the community, serving the needs of disadvantaged schoolchildren throughout Prince William County and beyond.

“We’re immensely grateful to everyone who’s stepped up in support of our mission to provide clothing for local kids in need, and we’re especially grateful to receive such constant support from our friends at I-66 Express Mobility Partners,” Boxes of Basics executive director Sarah Tyndall said. “We’re delighted to have established a long-term partnership with I-66 EMP, because it’s the kids of our community who get the benefits.”