Closet Emergency

Imagine living in a car tonight, surrounded by snow and ice with the cold winter wind blowing outside. That's the reality two children faced -- until today when a Wilson High School teacher agreed to become their foster parent. Now it's our turn to help.

Thanks to the generosity of Wilson District families, The WES Kids Closet today provided some basic clothing for the 4-year-old girl (size 4-5) and her 6-year-old brother (size 6). We were also able to secure a new mattress and box spring for the family thanks to Hart Gary at WES. But their needs are still great.

Here's what is still needed:
twin-size bed sheets and pillow cases
twin-size comforters (one boy, one girl)
pillows
boys pajamas (size 6)
underwear (boys size 6, girls size 4-5)
socks (shoe size unknown)
gently used toys

Here are some suggestions if you'd like to do a little extra:
a new coat (boy size 6, girl size 4-5)
A new outfit (boy size 6, girl size 4-5)
a new toy or stuffed animal
grocery gift certificates for the foster family (even $5 or $10 would help!)
a gift certificate to Target, Wal-Mart or other store where the family can purchase various items for the children

To make arrangements to drop off items or if you have a question about how you can help, please e-mail WESKidsCloset@gmail.com or jenellewatson@aol.com or jwatson@augusta.k12.va.us.

Come and get 'em -- or give 'em

Due to the continued outpouring of requests for clothing, The WES Kids' Closet will be opening for a second pre-Christmas distribution on Saturday, Nov. 12 at the Wilson Elementary School cafeteria. Donations of gently used or new clothes, shoes, coats and accessories can be dropped off as early as 8:30 a.m. We will be open to "shoppers" from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

As of Nov. 24, the closet had fielded clothing requests for 18 students -- just three days after providing clothing for 21 Fishersville-area students.

The Closet is a community pass-down project that allows parents at all income levels the opportunity to select gently used clothing for their Wilson School District students. While many of the families we have served qualify for other forms of assistance, one of our primary goals is to help families who do not qualify for assistance stretch household budgets that may have been strained due to current economic conditions. We know many in our community are struggling to make ends meet; we hope the closet can help them do that.

There is no charge for clothing. The closet is open to parents of Wilson Elementary, Wilson Middle and Wilson Memorial High School students and stocks clothing for infants, children and teens.

For information, contact us at WESKidsCloset@gmail.com.

Looks like we need to open again -- soon

Unfortunately, we had several pre-registered families who were unable to make it out to Saturday's distribution. Ten of their children are in need of clothes. We also received registration forms on Monday for three additional children, bringing the total up to 13 students whose parents have expressed a need for help.

Here are their specific needs: Please note that items marked with an asterisk are not in stock. If you can help with any of these items, particularly those that are out of stock, we would sincerely appreciate it!
7-year-old male (grade 1): pants size 10, shirts size youth medium, shoes size 2*, coat size 8
14-year-old female(grade 8): pants size 9*, shirts size adult medium, shoes size 6*, coat size missies L*
10-year-old male (grade 5): pants size 12, shirts size 12, shoes size 1*, coat size 12-14
5-year-old male (grade K): shoes size 13*, coat size 7-8
10-year-old female (grade 5): shoes size 7*, coat size 14
5-month-old female: onesies size 9-12 months*, coat size 9-12 months*
7-year-old female (grade 2): pants size 7/8, shirts size 8, coat size 7/8
3-year-old female: pants size 4T, shirts size 4T, shoes size 9*,
3-year-old female: pants size 2T, shirts size 2T, shoes size 8*
6-year-old female (grade K): pants size 6, shirts size 6, coat size 6
11-year-old female (grade 6): pants size ladies/missies 3/4*, shoes size 7 1/2*
2-year-old male: pants size 2T, shirts size 2T, shoes size 6*
5-year-old male (grade K): pants size 5, shirts size 5, coat size 5/6

If you have clothes matching these descriptions that you'd like to donate, please e-mail WESKidsCloset@gmail.com. Include your name and afternoon/evening phone number.

Due to the demand, we are considering scheduling another distribution for early to mid-December. We'll also accept donations of clothing during the distribution. Details on that event will be posted as soon as they are set.

We Have Storage!

Thanks to Kim Baze, mother of WES Student Chris Baze, the WES Kids Closet now has off-site storage at the Shields Storage Complex on U.S. 250. A manager at Shields, Mrs. Baze generously offered the use of her storage unit so we would have a place to store clothes for future distributions.

Without her donation, we would have had to have stored bags of clothing in the garages of our volunteers. Given the amount of clothes donated to the closet by Wilson Elementary families and residents of the Teaverton community in Fishersville, we'd have lots of bags stored in numerous garages across the area. Because of Mrs. Baze's donation, we can now store all of the clothes in one place, making it easier to access items when we need them.

Thanks Mrs. Baze!

Opening Day Results

Thanks to members of the Fishersville community, 21 Wilson Elementary students and/or their siblings no longer have to worry about what they'll wear to school. On The Closet's first day, volunteers helped distribute 55 pairs of pants, 91 tops, 8 pairs of shoes, 21 coats and 25 other items (pairs of gloves/mittens, packages of socks/undies, etc.)

And that's just the beginning. As long as we have clothes and the support of the community, the WES Kids' Closet will remain open.

If you'd like to help by donating freshly laundered, gently used clothes to the closet or by helping us realize the goal of having a storage building on the campus of Wilson Elementary, please contact us by e-mailing Jenelle Watson at WESKidsCloset@gmail.com or by calling (540) 941-5988.