Silver Award: Stevens County Foster Closet

A nonprofit fundraiser supporting

Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines

We want to help children placed in foster care get their necessities.

$13,655

raised by 21 people

$15,000 goal

Story

Updates (2)

Update #2

Update posted 5 months ago

Things will start coming together in the next month... here we have a donation of a much-needed step ladder, some office supplies, and trash cans. Plus some fans to help keep the air moving... gets pretty warm in our location during the summer so some airflow will be much welcomed. Thank you to the anonymous organization that purchased these items for us!

Hi, we’re Mari and Taiah from Morris Area Girl Scout Troop 481. We are going into 8th grade and are currently Cadettes within the Girl Scout program (7-9th grade). We have both been in Girl Scouts since 1st grade. One of the things we enjoy about Girl Scouts is making an impact on our community. We hope to do this with our Silver Award project.

The Silver Award is the highest award a Cadette can receive. It involves identifying a problem or need in the community and figuring out a way to solve the problem in a way that is sustainable over time. It also requires that we put in a minimum of 50 hours each to complete the project.

A little over a year ago, we started brainstorming ideas for our project while working at a cookie booth. One thing that came up in our brainstorming was that we heard that other communities had started foster closets, and we wanted to learn more. We talked to social services and found out that most foster kids are placed with only the clothes on their backs. We learned that they place children of all ages, including teenagers. We also found out that Stevens County does about 20 placements per year.

We liked the idea of helping other kids and knew that Stevens County didn’t have a foster closet yet. Therefore, we chose to start one as our Silver Award project. A foster closet is a place where foster families can get the necessities for children placed with them. Things will also be available to those who lost their home due to fire or those who are fleeing domestic situations.

We have already talked to various community members and secured a location. Local businesses have also offered discounts and donations to help us with our project. We will be doing fundraisers and are seeking monetary donations from the community for other items needed, including materials for building a wall, shelving, storage containers, new car seats, mattresses, etc. We will also be seeking donations of gently used clothing and shoes for kids of all ages, especially winter gear. Donations of new clothing, shoes, boots, undergarments, diapers, wipes, and toiletries will be collected as well. The Morris Area Women of Today will have oversight of the closet once we get it started, but we will continue to be involved.

Thanks for your support.

-Mari and Taiah