In the last five months, Carly’s Closet has nearly doubled the number of Lewis County schools it operates in, providing clothing, shoes and school supplies to students.
As of mid-November, the nonprofit had handed out over 1,400 items to students in need.
Carly’s Closet, named after White Pass School District graduate Carly King, started at White Pass Elementary School in late 2023 shortly after King died of a rare form of cancer at the age of 22.
The program expanded to Morton, Onalaska, Toledo, Winlock and Napavine elementary schools between 2023 and May 2024, and now operates in the following 16 schools:
• White Pass Elementary
• Morton Elementary
• Mossyrock Elementary
• Onalaska Elementary
• Toledo Elementary
• Winlock Elementary
• Evaline Elementary
• Napavine Elementary
• Boisfort Elementary
• Pe Ell Elementary
• Lintott Elementary
• Orin Smith Elementary
• Chehalis Middle School
• Oakview Elementary
• Fords Prairie Elementary
• Edison Elementary
“None of this would be possible without donations! We appreciate everyone of you who has donated money or items to directly benefit these schools. We have spent countless hours searching websites for the best deals and making sure to make every donated dollar count,” organizers said in an Oct. 12 social media post.
To thank the community for its support, provide a fun experience for local kids and to help raise money for items that will be needed during the winter months, Carly’s Closet will host a free Christmas Festival at The Barn event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30, at the Mason Jar, located at 637 Leonard Road in Onalaska.
“We wanted to create an event that is a fun atmosphere for kids during the holiday season,” said Carly’s mother, Quedessa King, who founded and runs Carly’s Closet alongside her sister, Mikel Myers, daughter, Madison King, Carly’s grandmother, Kim Elliott, and other volunteers. “Carly, she always loved planning fun things and crafts for, specifically her little niece and cousin … so that was kind of a lot of keeping her memory going and doing stuff for kids.”
Free activities and crafts available at the event include ornament decorating, a reindeer food bar, a hot cocoa bar, cookie painting, Christmas card decorating, a coloring contest and temporary tattoos. There will also be a vendor market with a free gift wrapping service, and Santa will be on hand to take photos with kids from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Christmas trees, poinsettias, wreaths, food and Seahawks raffle tickets will be available for purchase.
The event is sponsored by The Mason Jar, Breezy Jennings and John L. Scott Real Estate.
All proceeds from the event will benefit Carly’s Closet. Attendees can also donate directly to the nonprofit during the event.
Carly’s Closet started out by donating new clothes and other needed supplies to White Pass Elementary School, where Carly attended elementary school, for school staff to give directly to students as needed.
After starting Carly’s Closet at White Pass Elementary School, Carly’s Closet organizers quickly began reaching out to other elementary schools in Lewis County to develop partnerships.
Carly’s Closet accepts donations of new clothing and shoes at Willie’s Sport Shop in Centralia and through a registry at Walmart, along with monetary donations through Square at https://square.link/u/q8rLrYRb, Venmo @Carlys-Closet, and Security State Bank through the account Carly’s Closet.
The Walmart registry can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/47pce9mx.
Donors can specify which school they want their donation to go to, and 100% of monetary donations go toward the purchase of clothing, shoes and other needed supplies for kids.
For more information, visit https://carlys-closet-2023.square.site/ or https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554777665102.
