Submitted by Rotary Club of Olympia
There are smiles all around these days at Rosie’s Place when their clients are in the need of “new” or clean clothes. Rosie’s is a teen drop-in center focused on providing services for homeless youth, as part Olympia’s Community Youth Services’ new Brighter Futures Youth Center at 520 Pear St. NE, Olympia.
“Cindy’s Closet,” a name transferred from what began as a real closet in the original Rosie’s Place largely operated by CYS board member and volunteer Cindy Berger, is now an attractive outlet for donated duds where young people in need can expand their wardrobes.
“It’s fantastic,” says Cindy. “When you operate largely without a budget, you scrounge a lot. When we started in the old building and kids would come in and pick out clothing items from a box on the floor or recycled bin we got for free. Having pristine display racks and shelving in the new building elevates everything and it really shows respect for the kids. They get to browse, and what I particularly enjoy about that is it gives me a chance to interact with them more, show people care about them and how they are doing. It is particularly gratifying to be able to go a little further in helping them understand and make the best use of the services available to them.”
The new Cindy’s Closet is the result of a District Community Grant from Rotary Club of Olympia. “The way it works,” says Rotarian Brian Martin, DSG Committee chair, “is we put up $2,500 in club funds which is matched by $2,500 from district, then volunteer Rotarian labor executes the project.”
Development Director, Lynsi Polanco, explained, “This was a huge project that took a lot of resources to make it a reality. Rotary surpassed what we could have expected of their donation. The time and effort that was put into making Cindy’s Closet, the sorting area, and laundry room was a remarkable addition to a traditional donation.”
“Brian was terrific,” according to Keylee Marineau, Rosie’s Place Outreach Director. “He worked with us every step of the way to be sure we got the outcome we wanted. He and his committee did all the leg work, purchased all the items, painted, assembled all the shelving and display materials, and got the washer and dryer delivered and set up. The value of their efforts probably doubled what we could have done had they just given us money.”
The commercial washer and dryer accounted for more than half the grant budget, but clearly was a good investment. “It is used all day, every day,” says Keylee. “By having it in an accessible area, our kids can use it any time it is free, unlike the old place where they needed to find a staff member to unlock and relock the room. They love it.”
Kadi Townsend, CYS Director of Administrative Services, called the project amazing. “It came at a perfect time for us,” she said. “Having Brian and the Rotary committee just take over that room and make it exactly what we wanted freed up a lot of time and resources we could dedicate to other aspects of the move into the new building.
In addition to Rosie’s Place Drop-In Center and Street Outreach, the Youth Center also features an all new Young Adult Center and Gravity High School, a program to help drop-out students complete GED requirements and otherwise expand their educational opportunities.
