Plano’s Closet is a club that works to make an impact on campus by collecting food and clothes for students in need.
“Plano’s Closet is an umbrella for two different types of donations. Our first is food, called the Backpack Buddies program.” Jacqueline Mizeur said, the sponsor of Plano’s Closet.
The club was organized last school year by Mizeur to allow students who need food over weekends or school breaks to have the option to discreetly take home a backpack with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack portions. Plano’s Closet organizes and collects the food and sorts it into the backpacks.
“The second major thing under the umbrella is clothing. We keep a closet on campus stocked with a variety of clothes for either genders, summer and winter clothing,” Mizeur said.
Anonymity is also considered when helping students get access to the closet. Administration and counselors anonymously connect Plano’s Closet to the number of students who need access to the clothes by receiving reports from the students themselves or their teachers. Then, administration can walk the students down to the closet whenever it is convenient.
“The identities of the students who receive help are kept private,” Mizeur said.
In order for this club to be able to provide anonymous help, members in Plano’s Closet have the responsibility to sort and organize the clothes before transporting the donations to the closet. By keeping the closet stocked, students are given a wide variety of options to choose from.
Plano’s Closet has multiple goals it wants to accomplish this year in order to continue providing quality aid to students on campus. From Sept. 19-30, they are holding a school wide food drive. The Backpack Buddies program aims to gather more food to ensure its success throughout the school year.
“Boxes will be in English classes to collect food donations,” Mizeur said.
A new task Plano’s Closet may be undertaking is an undergarments drive. However, it is something that will be developed after the September food drive and their upcoming winter coat drive, which are their current focuses.
The club is able to consider more drives and projects because membership in Plano’s Closet has doubled since last year. The hard work of the club has been successful in drawing in new members. Senior Amy Lu joined the organization this year and is ready for the upcoming projects.
“I heard about the club through a friend,” Lu said. “Everyone is really dedicated to the cause. At meetings we discuss how to communicate effectively and organize the closet.”
Senior Eena Lin, is a returning member to Plano’s Closet who appreciates the direct impact the club has.
“This club is beneficial to Plano Senior because it helps people on our own campus. I joined so I could have a direct impact on the school,” Lin said.