As a way to provide free clothing to those in need, a local high school division of Rotary Club called Interact which consists of 20 students from Big Rapids and Crossroads Charter Academy teamed up with nonprofit Angels of Action to set up the Caring Closet in the downtown area. 

 

Rotary Interact Club adviser Michelle Moen says the idea came when one of clubs sponsors saw it in a town up north and decided to bring it here. 

 

"We are always looking for projects to better our community and Deb Tyson presented this idea to us, so we reviewed it, then fund raised and pursued it." Moen said. 

 

Moen says the closet was built by a couple of our students through the construction program and the city was kind enough to side the closet for them. 

 

She says this closet is to help those in need or people who just need some extra help. 

 

“Through the pandemic we had families that we're receiving assistance and things and had direction on where they could go for help and then there was a whole bunch of families that might have been laid off, might have had less hours, might have been working a couple of jobs but they said they didn't have resources.” Moen said. 

 

“So this is a way they can come to the closet and if they need a coat or they need a hat or mittens or pair of jeans or shoes or there's a variety of different things from all ages in there and they can help themselves to what they need, we just ask that they leave it clean when they leave.

 

Moen says Interact members are responsible to check the closet every other day to see if it needs to be refilled.

 

The Caring Closet will be open until late May then will close for the remainder of the summer, with plans to reopen by mid-August according to Moen.