A Boutique with Heart: The Wiscasset Middle High School Clothing Closet
What started as a modest closet near the sports storage has grown into something students actually want to visit. The Wiscasset Middle High School clothing closet has been around for years, but in 2016, staff member Melinda Turner came back to the school with plans to make it better.
It took some doing. Mindy pulled together a few interested colleagues and kept pushing to get a real room upstairs. She wanted to get rid of the stigma—make it a place where students who needed help could actually walk in without feeling singled out.
It worked. By turning the closet into a "free boutique" where anyone could pick up new clothes, it became somewhere students wanted to go, not a place they'd avoid. Now about 20 students stop by each day during free periods, with teacher permission, to browse what's available.
The whole program runs on donations—from neighbors, teachers, even students who shop there themselves. Everything gets washed before it goes out (the parent organization covers laundry supplies). People walk in and their faces light up: "Wow! It is fantastic in here!" "This is awesome!"
The transformation proves that sometimes, changing perceptions is simply a matter of changing presentation, and one person's determination to create dignity and opportunity for all students. A huge thank you to Melinda Turner and Xantha Morse for their dedication and commitment to serving the students of WMHS.
