For Joy Pines, fashion has never been just about what hangs on a rack. At Iddy & Oscar, her thoughtfully curated boutique, every purchase tells a deeper story—one driven by compassion, and a love for Kenya that began more than a decade ago. What started as a quiet act of generosity has grown into a giveback boutique where style fuels opportunity and local shopping creates global impact through its tithing.
Joy’s connection to Kenya began in 2011 while she was doing medical work there. As a nurse, she encountered an entire generation of children orphaned by circumstance, many with no realistic path to finish school. Without education, these young people were often forced into demoralizing situations simply to survive and care for younger siblings. Back home in the U.S., Joy was working as a nurse and selling a line of children’s clothing on the side. Moved by the faces and stories she couldn’t forget, she made a decision that would quietly change everything: she would take the money she earned selling clothes and sponsor the education of one orphan she already knew.
That seed of generosity took deeper root in 2012, when Joy and her husband spent an extended stay in Kenya with their three children. While serving there, they met another missionary family working closely with an orphan day school. Through them, Joy met students whose resilience and determination left a permanent imprint on her heart. Two of those students, Iddy and Oscar, later shared dinner with the Pines family. Their stories, grit, and hope in the face of overwhelming odds stayed with Joy. That night, she told her husband that if she ever opened a store, it would carry their names.
Today, Iddy & Oscar is a living expression of that promise, operating with a clear mission: at least 10 percent of its profits go directly toward educating young people in Kenya. Every purchase—whether it’s a dress, accessory, or gift item—helps fund tuition, resources, and opportunities that change lives.
Those lives are not abstract numbers. Joy stays closely connected to the students and communities supported through the boutique, and the stories she shares are powerful reminders of what education makes possible.
One student, an orphan raised by her aunt, had earned a scholarship to attend a university in Kenya, fulfilling her dream of becoming a nurse. When she arrived on campus, she was devastated to learn the funding had been reassigned to another student. Feeling hopeless, her aunt reached out within the community for help. Through a series of God-ordained connections, they were introduced to Iddy & Oscar’s scholarship program.
What followed was more than a solution—it was a miracle. Through new partnerships, Joy’s program helped connect the student to a nursing opportunity in Germany. She is now enrolled in an intensive German language program and will soon move to Germany to complete her nursing studies, with a guaranteed hospital job waiting for her.
For Joy, stories like this affirm the heart behind every hanger and display. She wishes shoppers fully understood the ripple effect their support creates. Each purchase not only provides education but equips students to become self-sustaining and support their families. During Joy’s visit to Kenya this past June, several students shared their own dreams of paying it forward one day—helping someone else access education because of what they were given. “That’s what love looks like,” Joy says. A ripple that doesn’t stop with one person or one place.
Inside the boutique, Joy balances purpose with beauty by curating on-trend pieces while staying mission-focused. Many brands carried at Iddy & Oscar already give back, including products made by female artisans in developing countries. Others support specific charitable causes. Still, the heart of the shop remains the same: every item sold contributes to education in Kenya.
Looking ahead, Joy is excited about expanding long-standing initiatives, including a widows’ basket-making project that began in 2016 and has already transformed lives in one village. She’s also prayerfully exploring new efforts to support family unity through food aid and pantry baskets. Community members can support these initiatives through the Pine Family Mission Fund at First United Methodist Church.
The impact is tangible. Today, 14 young people are enrolled in colleges and universities across Kenya because of Iddy & Oscar—a reality Joy holds with deep gratitude and carries into every part of her boutique’s mission.