Wolverine Wardrobe Launch



On Friday, May 20th, the Wolverine Wardrobe at Waukesha West High School had its grand opening celebration. As a recipient of a 2021 grant from the Waukesha Education Foundation, members of our board were excited to participate in the unveiling event. The ceremony was led by Jeff White, special education teacher at West. On-hand were many of the students from the Live & Learn class that helped build the new Wolverine Wardrobe. Morgan Baker, one of the founders of the Wolverine Wardrobe, did the official ribbon cutting. Students from the Wolverine Wardrobe Club led faculty, students, staff and parents on tours of the new space.  


The Wolverine Wardrobe was an idea that originated from former students Sarah Powers and Morgan Baker as part of their Trek class. The mission of the space was to help other students in need by providing an easily accessible place where they could go for clothing and accessories. It was originally located in the back of student services but it quickly outgrew that space. The reimagined Wolverine Wardrobe carries through the concept Sarah and Morgan developed and expands it into a space that has more prominence within the school. 
 
The new space was designed and built by the Live & Learn class, a class led by Mr. White that allows for special education students to learn valuable life skills, for their 2020-2021 project. Using the grant money they received from WEF, they bought all the lumber and paint materials to make the shelves from scratch. New flooring was purchased and installed. They also negotiated and purchased used clothing racks from St.Vinny’s. The students got help from Mrs. Angles, club advisor for Random Acts of Kindness, on decorations to help bring additional energy to the space. Nathan Meyer, a student in the Live & Learn class, says working on this project was valuable because “you can say you built something and now people can see it.” Another Live & Learn student that worked on the project, Alex Hauswirth, said “overall it will have a greater impact than we think it might have to those that don’t have clothes.”
 
The management of the Wolverine Wardrobe, including operation hours are still being figured out. The Wolverine Wardrobe Club, which meets on Fridays over the lunch hour, was formed to start shaping the operational rules. All students are welcome to join the club. Erin Wanner, a student in the club, says “it’s important to her to be a part of it because she can help kids who have lost everything and has already seen it benefit a fellow student.” The club hopes to have everything ready to be open and staff the Wolverine Wardrobe when school starts in the Fall of 2022.





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