Matt Willett, Jennifer Gross, and Leah Black started a new program around Oakville that not many people know about. It has not been opened to students yet, only faculty. They are collecting gently used clothing items and putting them in a closet at school.

If a teacher notices that a student is wearing the same clothes all the time, or they do not have clothes appropriate for the weather, they can let someone know and then offer the student help. They don’t want students to be embarrassed because of this, “We’ve all been through hard times, and we hope students look at this as an opportunity for people to give back, pay it forward”, said Gross.

Right now they’re asking for winter coats and pants, but this is not a program limited to the wintertime. They they want this to go on year round, so they accept any other basic clothing items as well. They even have some dresses for prom and formals.

There isn’t enough space to open it to the students yet, but in the future once they have more room they hope to expand, so everyone can donate. “I would never want someone to not come to school because of what they’re wearing,” Gross said.