March 29, 2024

Donations keep clothing closet stocked

A donation from Cato Fashions will keep the shelves full at Berg

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When her son Owen told her he was concerned about his friends not having clean clothes to wear to school, Megan Guldberg knew she needed to do something. Guldberg, who manages Cato’s Fashions, 315 Iowa Speedway Drive in Newton knew she wanted to do something to help.

“My kiddos are in the schools, and I know my oldest son is always concerned about helping his friends,” Guldberg said.

Guldberg had boxes of clothing in the back of the store, items that had been marked down to zero and could no longer be sold. For the past several years, she’s been donating the excess clothing to the Newton Community School District. The district has two clothing closets for students and their families, one at the high school and another at Berg Middle School. The clothing closets, funded entirely by donations, are stocked with new and gently used clothing. Berg also has a food pantry that is open to every student in the district and their families on the secondnd and fourthth Wednesday of each month.

Working and living in Newton Guldberg said she feels like it’s important to give back to the community in any way that she can. She was glad to learn that the donated items would be available to families as well as individual students.

“That was really important to me when she told me that,” Guldberg said. “They can just go there and get what they need and not have to worry about being able to pay for it.”

Michaela Gunsaulus, a success coach for seventh and eighth-grade students at Berg said these programs are in existence to fill a critical need for students and their families. However, making sure students and their families are informed about the resources that are available is key.

“I think that there’s a lot of need, and I’m not sure if the people who would benefit the most know about it,” Gunsaulus said.

The food pantry at Berg, now entering its second year, began when Gunsaulus left her position at Aurora Heights Elementary and started teaching at Berg Middle School. At Aurora Heights, she had students who participated in the Backpack Buddies program, which is offered at all four of Newton’s elementary schools. The program, which gives children in need a boost by offering extra snacks only runs until the end of elementary school.

“The need was still there, but they were too old, they’d aged out,” Gunsaulus said.

She contacted the Food Bank of Iowa, and they agreed to help out, stocking the shelves of the food pantry at Berg. Most of the food that Gunsaulus receives at the food bank is a mixture of canned and dry goods, and she said she’s always on the lookout for more donors.

“We always need socks and hygiene products, and meat is hard for me to get,” Gunsaulus said.

Staff members at Berg make a point not to ask too many questions, they’re primarily interested in helping. Guidance counselors and fellow teachers steer students to Gunsaulus, and she’s a pro at quietly helping them get what they need, slipping boxes of cereal into backpacks and making sure students have something nice to wear on dress up days.

“We don’t need to get an OK from a parent, we can just send stuff home with a student,” Gunsaulus said.

At Cato’s Fashions, Guldberg is still gathering up clothes to donate. Employees at the store do markdowns on Sundays and are stocking up on more clothing. Guldberg said she expected the store would be able to donate at least one box every month.

“Instead of throwing it away, we want to get it to someone who needs it,” Guldberg said.

Contact David Dolmage at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or ddolmage@newtondailynews.com