The Community Closet in Wagner served nearly 100 kids on Friday, December 14. Every first and second grade student at Wagner Community School was bussed to the Community Closet in the afternoon, where they were able to pick out one free item from specified areas. Students planned to use these as gifts for family, friends, their Middle School Buddies, or their teachers.

This is the second year the Community Closet has done this; the first time was very shortly after opening last December. Ruth Bouza, founder and president of the Community Closet, said she was excited about the kids coming in as well, and hopes for this to continue every year.

This year, Community Closet Board of Director members Greg Hubbard and Kara Frei attended the event. “It was a great event that really got the kids excited,” Frei said. “The kids love sharing with us about what they will do with the item they picked out. Afterward, I had a lot of positive feedback from the teachers about how much they appreciate their students having this opportunity as well.”

Samantha Tonak, manager of the Community Closet agreed. “I love seeing the kids’ faces when they find the gift they are giving away,” she said.

The Community Closet isn’t stopping there, though. Recently Dan Fiebelkorn, owner of James Drug, donated several items from his inventory to the Community Closet as his store undergoes major renovation. The Marty Indian School then purchased the items for their use. This large donation was very much appreciated, not only greatly helping out the Community Closet, but those who need the items as well.

Several other large donations have been given as well. Mitchel Breen, one of the owners of Knotheads in Pickstown, donated several items during their new-business renovation. While the Community Closet has received large donations, they don’t have to be big in order to be appreciated. Everything helps and is always appreciated. “I would like to give a huge thank you to all the community and surrounding community members who drop off donations,” Bouza said. “Thanks to them, we can continue serving people.”

Not all donations are about the items given; volunteer time is very important to the success of the Community Closet as well. Commercial State Bank has sent over employees during business hours to spend some time at the Community Closet helping out.

Recently the Community Closet received notice of achieving a non-profit status through the IRS, which is very exciting to everyone involved. This allows the public to receive tax benefits when donating goods or money to the organization.

Because of the success in the first year, the Board of Directors has chosen to award two $500 grants to any group or organization in or within 30 miles of Wagner. Applications can be picked up at the Community Closet or at Commercial State Bank, and upon completion, can be mailed to Kara Frei at 29915 392nd Avenue in Wagner. The deadline for the application is December 31, and recipients will be chosen in January of 2019. With continued success with the Community Closet, the hope is not only to continue offering grants each year, but to also increase the amount that is given back to the community.

The Community Closet staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors would like to thank the public for their ongoing support of the Community Closet, and hopes you and your family/organization keep the Community Closet in mind the next time you have time or items to spare!