'So many ways to help': Girl Scout makes reset of Shawnee Heights Care Closet her project
Kylie Zeiler had walked into the Shawnee Heights High School Care Closet and was almost immediately overwhelmed by what she saw.
Before the pandemic, students had started the Care Closet to provide food, clothes and other necessities for their less fortunate peers.
But those students graduated. Then a pandemic disrupted all school operations. Rats had even gotten into the closet and chewed through many of the clothes in stock, apart from unopened cans and boxes of food expiring over the years.
The closet was in disarray, to say the least.
Undeterred, Zeiler set out to refurbish and renew the closet for a new generation of students to take over and a new generation to benefit.
Shawnee Heights Care Closet refurbishment is Kylie Zeiler's Gold Award project
The refurbishment project started in fall 2022, when Zeiler was a junior.
A lifelong Girl Scout, Zeiler was trying to determine an appropriate project for her Gold Award, the highest rank in the organization. But outside of scouts, school organizations and three jobs, Zeiler didn't have a lot of time to dedicate to a project outside of school.
That’s when a teacher suggested she take on refurbishing the Care Closet, which is an actual closet tucked into a corner in one of the school’s common areas.
With the blessing of school administrators and the help of teachers who allowed her to spend some class time and online college course blocks on the project, Zeiler began to clean out the closet and put in a new organization system.
“A lot of the food had been chewed through by rats, with a lot of rat poop everywhere,” she said. “I took quite a bit of time to clean it out, and I donated all of the new food and helped replenish the clothing stock.”
Although she had occasional help from other classmates, Zeiler said she did most of the work herself, totaling more than 100 hours over the 2022-23 school year.
She solicited and received donations, including $200 from the Walmart on S.W. 37th Street to spend on boxes and organizing materials at the store. Zeiler’s Girl Scout troop also donated funds.
“In regard to the Care Closet, she had an obvious passion for it,” said choir teacher Nicolas Carr, who was a critical source of support for Zeiler as she dealt with the immense project. “Her face would light up when she would talk about it. Kids needed food and clothing, and she knew she needed to make it happen.”
Even one less Shawnee Heights student going hungry is worth the work
It’s hard for Zeiler to estimate the exact number of students who have benefitted from the renewed Care Closet, since by nature, the closet’s location is meant to help keep students who use it anonymous.
Anecdotally, though, she’s heard from school counselors and social workers that there is a steady flow of students who come in to use the closet, and a sheet of paper at the closet asks students to list items they take. That helps Zeiler know what is popular and might need to be restocked.
Keeping track of the numbers, though, misses the point, Zeiler said.
“It’s not about seeing the kids come in here, and it’s not about seeing what is taken,” the senior said. “It’s about how those people feel. I’m not doing this for me, or to see the difference I make. That honestly doesn’t really matter. What matters is that other students can feel good about themselves, and that they aren’t hungry and come to school in clothes that fit and are clean.”
Zeiler is still taking donations for the closet. The closet is currently well-stocked on clothing but could use more food. The Girl Scout is asking for healthy snacks, in particular, to create “snack packs” that she delivers to teachers around the school for them in turn to hand out to hungry students in their classrooms.
“I also want to do a Thanksgiving drive, since Thanksgiving break can be kind of long, and for a lot of kids, their only meals might be at school,” she said.
Those interested in donating may drop off items at the Shawnee Heights High main office.
Zeiler plans to graduate in December and immediately enroll at Washburn University through its senior academy, which helps area high school seniors get a jump start on college education.
She hopes to declare a pre-law major ahead of a career as a paralegal.
In the meantime, Zeiler hopes to find a new group of students, potentially a club, to take over management and replenishment of the Care Closet. A member of AVID, Zeiler said she’s had some interest from underclassmen in the program.
“There are a lot of people in the Shawnee Heights school district, 37.1% of them, who are food deprived,” Zeiler said. “I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be in that situation. I’m grateful that I’ve been fortunate, and I can recognize I’m lucky to have had that, but some people are not."
“I hope more people can see what kind of resource this can be for students, and I hope they’ll be drawn to this,” she continued. “Even beyond money, there’s so many ways to help further this. Just telling people about it is enough, if it can help one person.”
Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com or by phone at 785-289-5325. Follow him on Twitter at @byRafaelGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Shawnee Heights Girl Scout helps classmates with Care Closet reset
