A recent grant from the Keizer Rotary Foundation means that the Keizer Kloset program has most of the funding needed to provide students with clothes and food this school year, according to Keizer Community Foundation President Audrey Butler.
The foundation operates the closet program, which helps more than 10,000 students across Keizer’s 10 schools.
The Rotary foundation announced its $10,000 award in a recent press release.
Butler said in an interview that the program needs $30,000 annually to sustain the Kloset and the foundation needed $11,000 for the rest of this school year. She said the grant will help “tremendously.”
Butler estimated that 85% of the grant will pay for food, such as soups, protein bars and beef sticks, and the remainder will go towards clothing.
The need for Keizer Kloset has increased over the last year, with Butler noting that students accessed the closets 11,426 times between April and June. The closets were accessed 8,608 times in the last four months of 2024 and 10,372 times in the following three months.
The supplies are kept in a room or closet in each school, and students can directly get what they need through their school counselor or are referred by teachers.
The idea for Keizer Kloset came to Butler in 2017.
She had donated jackets from her son to McNary High School after learning from her friend, a counselor at McNary, that there was a student who needed one.
Butler said the student came to the counselor’s office needing a jacket, and received two because it was his birthday. The student was also given food to take home, and Butler described him as “grateful and excited.” She asked why her friend’s office held food and clothing, and was told that some McNary students were “dumpster diving” for necessities.
Butler was involved with the Keizer Chamber of Commerce at the time, and said she worked with a women’s group to create a closet providing donated food and clothing.
By the time the pandemic began in 2020, the program was run through the Keizer Community Foundation, and a closet was started in each Keizer school over three or four years.
Butler said she has received letters from two graduating students who said they don’t know if they could have graduated without help from the Kloset.
She said the Rotary grant helps her foundation ensure that students get the support they need to engage in school, and reduce the pressure on teachers and counselors to fill the unmet needs.
“It’s great to have partners like the Keizer Rotary, that respect how their money is shared, because it’s important to maintain our healthy community,” Butler said. “A child, who isn’t fed or properly clothed, is not going to pay attention, is not going to finish school.”
Besides Butler, others serving on the board of the foundation include Fernando Lopez, Lore Christopher, Kim Steen, Joy Huffman and Rob Miller. Mary Opra and Katherine Wilson are emeritus.
Vickie Jackson, chairperson of the Rotary Foundation’s board, said that one reason the foundation chose to award the grant is because of Keizer Kloset’s reach across 10 schools. She said the board aims to get the “biggest bang for our buck” in terms of the impact grant money will have in the Keizer community.
“Each school has a huge need, with the clothing, snacks and supplies that they need to just keep their kids focused and showing up to school,” Jackson said, noting that the funding breaks down to $1,000 per school. “Because it had a real broad reach in our community, we felt like it was a really great program for us to support.”
She said another reason is the program supported “basic education and literacy,” which is one of the seven focus areas that the foundation considers when awarding money.
Community members can donate clothing directly to Keizer schools, Butler said. Those wanting to learn more about the program or how to donate can contact Butler at [email protected], or visit the foundation’s website.
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