The Caring Closet
The Caring Closet
ECS student, teacher spearhead efforts to provide clothing and other items
For eleventh grader Elsa Woodarek, community service projects have been an integral part of her educational experience at Ellicottville Central School since seventh grade. From Student Council to Varsity Club and even working as a Fall Fest clean-up volunteer, Elsa has always looked forward to giving back to her community, although she knew this school year would create unprecedented challenges.
“This year has been so different,” she reflected. “Because of the hybrid schedule, not all of us are in school on the same days, which definitely affects our school clubs getting together and planning projects.”
Elsa and her peers were faced with a challenge: How could they organize a meaningful project that was not dependent on in-person club meetings but could also continue to serve the community if the school must shift to remote instruction?
The answer? The Caring Closet. In the words of Elsa, “There’s no better time than a pandemic to help get students what they need!”
The idea for the project began with an assignment in Joe Steger’s English class. Steger explained, “I started the year off with some project-based learning efforts, and this basically gave students the opportunity to work on whatever they wanted. I was thinking about a project at my previous district -- Rachel’s Closet -- and thought Elsa might be interested.”
Surprisingly, Elsa had already been considering some type of project that would allow students in the district to “shop” for clothing, coats, or personal hygiene products within the school. “I started talking with Mr. Steger about it in March, but then school closed and the project was on hold,” she explained. “At first, we were uncertain about starting it up this school year, but then we thought, ‘What better time?’
Just a few weeks ago, the Caring Closet received the “green light” from school administration, and now there is a small classroom dedicated to the space. Elsa noted, “The classroom is perfectly located in the middle of our middle-high school building! Despite the name, it’s much bigger than a closet.”
Indeed, the room has plenty of space to hold the donations that are already coming in from district faculty, students and staff. Elsa said, “We’re still working towards opening, but we’ve been accepting donations from staff and students in the nurse’s office. We’re taking clothing, coats, boots, and shoes in all sizes, as well as personal care products. We let the donations sit for 24 hours before preparing them for the closet.”
The Caring Closet will be open to all students in the district, grades K through 12, and the project also involves students across grade levels and classrooms. Steger explained, “Kristin Rocco’s special education students are helping wash, fold, and sort all of the donations we’ve received, which is part of their service learning.” He added that the middle-high school art teacher is going to be enlisting the help of students to paint a mural outside the classroom.
“I’m anticipating magic,” said Steger. “I saw this work in my last school and the joy that it brought to some students who had literally never been shopping before. This is going to afford students the opportunity to basically go in and choose whatever they need and be on a free shopping spree, of sorts.”
Elsa said that the Caring Closet is already being promoted to students through word of mouth and posters created and distributed throughout the school. Even if the school closes and shifts to a completely remote format, the Caring Closet will continue to serve students in the community.
Steger explained, “We’ve created a system where we can distribute forms to teachers and counselors that give students and families the ability to detail what necessities they’re looking for. Those will get turned in to the Caring Closet, and we can package and bag up what families need and get it to them.”
The enthusiasm for the Caring Closet is contagious, said Elsa. “I think a project like this is extremely important, not only because of the pandemic, but also the holiday season,” she added. “A good portion of us take a lot of things for granted, but there are so many who just don’t have access to what they need. If cleaning out your closet and bringing in clothes can help students in our district, I think that’s a great thing for people to understand and get excited about!”
Community members can also get involved! Steger said donations (labeled for the ECS Caring Closet) can be dropped off in the clothing donation box in the parking lot of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on Route 242 in Ellicottville.
