Manhattan-Ogden school district officials have announced the district’s FIT Closet distributed 720 backpacks full of school supplies to families for the 2021-22 school year.
The FIT, or Families in Transition, Closet consists of a trailer at 1609 College Ave. in Manhattan. The trailer, which was donated by the College Avenue United Methodist Church, houses gently used clothes, school supplies, and hygiene items for qualified students and their families to “shop” from.
“I use the term ‘shop’ loosely,” FIT Closet coordinator Tracy Emery said. “There’s no charge for families to come in and grab what they need.”
Operating solely on donations and volunteer help, the FIT Closet was born from a need to provide students with things like shoes, backpacks, notebooks and other essentials to help them navigate school successfully. To qualify, children answer survey questions relating to their housing situation and life outside of school. Emery said there are multiple factors that would qualify a student for using the FIT Closet, and she said she feels the number of kids taking advantage of the service may increase over time.
“All the programs that went into place to support families during COVID – all of those will expire eventually, and that’s going to lead in more people using (the Closet),” Emery said. “I pray that I am proven absolutely crazy for thinking that.”
Emery said the Closet consistently needs school supplies like paper and pencils and school-appropriate clothing in smaller children’s sizes.
She said personal hygiene products, like shampoo and toilet paper, are also always in high demand. At the start of a new school year each fall, volunteers for the Closet try to stock up on warm winter coats, gloves, and snow boots for kids.
The FIT Closet does not carry food on its shelves, however Emery said she will connect people to resources like the Flint Hills Breadbasket and Common Table if they are food insecure.
Emery said she hands out an average of 700-900 bags of school supplies to students each year. There is also an online giving portal on the FIT Closet website.
“People can donate financially, and the money is used to purchase school supplies,” Emery said. “One of the silver linings of the COVID cloud was being able to offer online donations for the first time last year.”
Emery said she expects online donation options to grow in the future, as it makes participating in the program easier for people with busy schedules. She said the Manhattan community is “not afraid to donate and do what they can to meet the needs” of students.
“When I put a call out for who knows what – bins of clothing, shampoo, you name it – this community responds like you would not believe,” Emery said. “It’s incredible.”
K-State common book author Cherie Dimaline to give Sept. 23 virtual lecture
Kansas State University students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to hear from Cherie Dimaline, the award-winning author of the K-State 2021 common book “The Marrow Thieves”, during a virtual lecture later this month.
The lecture, called “An Evening with Cherie Dimaline,” will be at 7 p.m. on Sept. 23 through Zoom. People interested in watching can visit the K-State First Book website for the livestream link and connection information.
A K-State eID and password are required to view the lecture.
“Everyone is excited to be in the virtual presence of the author,” associate professor at K-State Libraries and coordinator of the First Book committee Tara Coleman said. “I’m glad that our students will have an opportunity to ask her questions and learn more of her thoughts.”
“The Marrow Thieves” is an award-winning and bestselling novel that tells the story of a dystopian future where humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming.
The protagonist, Frenchie, struggles to survive in a world where the Indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream.
During the lecture, Dimaline will perform a reading and offer remarks about her creative work and its themes.
Dimaline’s lecture is sponsored by K-State First Book, the Student Governing Association Diversity Programming Committee and Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society.
“We’re honored to host Cherie Dimaline for this virtual presentation,” English department chair Karin Westman said. “We look forward to the insights she will share about her award-winning novel and her work as an author.”
K-State First Book is the all-university reading program that is part of K-State First. The committee selects a common book for the academic year and coordinates classroom and campus activities to correspond with the reading.
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September 11, 2021 at 01:00AM
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SCHOOL NOTEBOOK | USD 383 FIT Closet distributes 720 full backpacks for 2021-22 school year - Manhattan Mercury
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