First Teen Clothes Closet becoming a hit

Teens are donating time to sort through 
donations to make sure they’re wearable

ONALASKA, Wis. – A free, church-run clothes closet that stayed pretty quiet for a while has recently become quite busy. 

It’s called the First Teen Clothes Closet at First Lutheran Church in Onalaska. 

Well more than a hundred teens from all over the area have picked up clothing and toiletries at the closet on an appointment-only basis over the last few months. 

Stuff that teens will actually wear, insists Bridget Crave, from First Lutheran.

“At that age, where the high school and middle school kids really want to fit in, these clothes are for teens,” Crave said.

In fact, she says, teenagers from the church are the ones sorting through clothing donations to make sure the stuff is wearable. 

Crave credits a new focus to spread the word about the clothes closet for more teens actually using it. 

Although, she says, there’s also plenty of teens in the area who are still doing without the most basic clothing items. You can see it, she says, when the weather turns. Plenty of teens are in need of warm clothes then.