DETROIT -- Ten years ago, Lacey Catarino saw a problem in the community firsthand and decided to make an impact.
“In 2015, I saw a girl on the street that was homeless, and she had blood-stained pants. It just got me to the core,” Catarino said. “Moving forward, she stuck in my head, and I said, ‘I need to do something.’”
Catarino is the third Women’s History Month honoree in the 2025 Ilitch Sports + Entertainment Game Changers series, which celebrates community members making a profound difference in Detroit. In partnership with Comerica Bank, the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers recognize one Game Changers honoree per week during select months.
Catarino is the founder of The Clean Love Project, a Detroit non-profit organization, that has packaged more than 60,000 hygiene kits for community organizations to distribute to women in need.
“Our kits include eight essential products: a toothbrush, toothpaste, a new pair of socks, deodorant, hand sanitizer or wet wipes, a small zipper pouch and tampons and pads,” Catarino said. “These are all housed in a gallon Zip-Loc bag.”
Catarino initially made a few dozen kits on her own, but one social media post spread the word.
“I put a message out on Facebook that said ‘Hey, I'm doing this, does anybody want to help out?’ So many people responded,” Catarino said. “That year, we put 250 kits together just from me making a Facebook post.”
Over the next two years, Catarino and friends assembled the kits. Their yield doubled each year, from around 500 kits assembled in 2016, to almost 1,000 kits in 2017.
Realizing the scope of the operation would keep growing, Catarino organized The Clean Love Project as a non-profit at the end of 2017.
“The Clean Love Project has four events per year, one per quarter. We have volunteers come put the kits together and get them ready for distribution,” Catarino said. “Our board members and some volunteers distribute them to our community partners, who are shelters, transitional housing programs, food pantries, schools, and other organizations that have distribution programs.”
Catarino said her organization is somewhat of a middleman, but that doesn’t lessen its impact on the community.
“We get testimonials from our community partners saying that our kits make the ladies happy and give them dignity,” Catarino said. “I always say that we’re the little guys, but we do make a huge positive impact. I would say our goal is to continue to reach as many women as possible.”
Ilitch Sports + Entertainment is proud to recognize Catarino as a Game Changers honoree during Women’s History Month for her extremely important work in the community.
“It's a huge honor being a Game Changer. Ten years ago, when I started doing this just for a couple people, I did not see it being a nonprofit at all,” Catarino said. “Being recognized for making a positive impact in the community is very humbling.”