Edgewood Caring Closet

New for the 2022-2023 school year, Edgewood Middle School announced the opening of a caring closet that is a donation-based store located in the school to provide food, clothing, and self-care items for students and their families who may have unmet needs.

Edgewood Principal JoElla Hauselman explained, "Our 8th-grade HOPE group has been instrumental in helping us set up and organize the Caring Closet; they benefit as both consumers and as contributors. Tammy Adamiec's HOPE class also helps with the annual canned food drive that's another upcoming school and community outreach Edgewood is known for." Hauselman went on to add, "Within Warsaw Community Schools, the Boomerang Backpack is a wonderful resource available to all our elementary students. Those organizers send food home on Fridays for K-6th-grade students. The need for assistance is also great in grades seven and eight. We know that kids are going home hungry over the weekends, fall break, and the holidays. The Edgewood Caring Closet will now, with community support, meet that need. We are currently spending about $200 a week on groceries and our list of students continues to grow. In our first week, we had seven students on our list. This week, our 4th week, we will be sending items home to 11 families. Warsaw Community Schools' theme for this school year is A Year of Kindness, so this is Edgewood's school-wide response to demonstrate how much we all care."  

Carleigh Freeman, Edgewood treasurer, agreed, "It takes one person or group of people to make a big difference. It really is an important resource to have for our students.  We used the funding from our old bookstore to purchase shelving and the initial groceries to send home with the students. We had a generous donation made by an anonymous donor to help us launch this initiative. We'd also like to recognize Julie Hall and her family for donating clothing and funds to help support the start of the Caring Closet. We have also received many clothing and cash donations from staff in our building. Our HOPE students are donating their time by filling bags to send home on Fridays and keeping the clothing and items sorted throughout the week. The goal is to reach as many of our students with needs as possible, in any way that we can."

To make a financial donation, community members and corporate sponsors are asked to drop off cash or checks made payable to Edgewood Middle School. Other donation requests include nonperishable food items, new or gently used clothing and shoes, hygiene products, laundry detergent, and feminine products. With cooling temperatures, Principal JoElla Hauselman noted that there is a great need for coats, gloves, hats, and boots for children.

Contact Edgewood Principal JoElla Hauselman or Carleigh Freeman at 574.371.5096.

Warsaw Community Schools would like to thank Edgewood leadership for their vision, organizers for their support, and the community for donations.

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