Gate City Rotary opens closet to help homeless youth
Tucked away behind a gated storage lot, sits a tiny shed, that has just enough color to make it seem larger than the white units encompassing it.
Gate City rotarian Molly Swallow wouldn’t have it any other way.
“This was my baby,” she joked.
But really, it was.
This week, that tiny shed called the Gate City Rotary Youth Closet, opened its door for the first time. It will provide all of the basic necessities for students in need whose families can’t afford items such as: toothpaste, toilet paper, hygiene products, etc.
“I was absolutely surprised at the statistics,” she continued. “There are over 170 homeless children in the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District, and that is a large number of kids who need everyday things.”
This past summer, she decided to apply for a grant through Gate City Rotary in order to build that shed.
The club raised money for this project through a matching fund grant from District 5400 Rotary. The $5,000 total raised went toward paying for the shed itself, additional shelves, and some of those necessities students might need.
Tyhee Elementary Community Resource Officer Courtney Kent said there is a huge need for those basic items.
“Anything students are in need of, we get through whatever donations come in,” Kent said. “This closet is the first one we have in this community where we have access to toilet paper, deodorant, socks, all these necessary things.”
Tyhee is one of three schools in District 25 that has a food pantry within the school. However, she said, students need more than just food.
“The number one request for things they need is toilet paper and tampons,” Swallow added.
With only one more day left of the school year, Kent said she is sending those students in need home, stocked-up with enough basics to get them through the summer months.
Swallow said, in the meantime, the goal is to keep those shelves stocked, and will need all the help in donations they could get.
She said anyone who would like to donate could drop those items off at the New Horizon Center during the school’s summer office hours.
The school is located at: 955 W. Alameda Rd., Pocatello; or you could call the school at: 208.237.2233
