Care Closet brings community mindset to the classroom

Mandy Fausett hugged the closed doors of a seemingly average school closet and gave a silly smile before yanking it open to reveal shelves of carefully curated goodies to keep all her kids safe, happy and healthy.  

In neatly organized plastic containers are the basics – easy-to-make foods from Bigfork Food Bank, water, soap, all free for the kids to use or take home. But Fausett’s Care Closet goes above and beyond; it’s about comfort and confidence just as much as commodities. There are also sparkly clips for kids who need help doing their hair, and chocolate for teachers in need.  

Fausett knew in her heart her class needed a Care Closet when she moved from first to second grade at Bigfork Elementary School this year. Out of 20 students in her class this year, 11 of them had her for first grade. They’re a little community of their own, and Fausett saw the Care Closet as a way to look after not only her classroom, but the entire school. Her passion project this summer has been building it out.  

“We’re trying to tell kids, just get to school and we’ll take care of you,” Fausett said.  

She reached out to the larger community to fill her closet’s shelves. Bigfork Drug for deodorants, lotions, and body wipes, Bigfork Dental Center and Jewel Basin Dentistry for mouthwash, toothpaste and toothbrushes and My Place Hotel in Kalispell for mini shampoo, conditioner and soaps. The Rotary Club helped spread the word and gather cash donations.  

Online, she started an Instagram page with a GoFundMe and Amazon and Walmart wishlists. People from as far as New York and New Mexico chipped in to make the dream a reality. The closet now has socks and underwear, menstrual products, fingernail clippers, pimple patches and more ready for kids when they need them.  

One of the questions Fausett was asked as she fundraised was, ‘Does Bigfork really need this?’ After all, there are places with much lower income student bodies. But Fausett explained that rough patches exist regardless of income, and that kids everywhere can use a little kindness. 

 “Things come up in life, and I know how nervous I get when I forget to put on deodorant or I forgot to brush my teeth and I’m an adult, so I know kids that are more prone to feel self-conscious are going to feel that double-time,” she said.  

The Care Closet is open to everyone in the school, and Fausett makes trips back there herself to make sure her students know that. A couple students from the high school and middle school have even stopped by to snag a deodorant. The most-used items are turning out to be hairbrushes, though.  

Fausset said a while back, she had a student with one of the worst rat’s nests she had ever seen.  

“I watched her fiddle with it, I watched her worry about it, and instead of working on reading and math, she was very distracted about this tangle,” Fausett explained on her Instagram.  

Fausett has helped many of her students work through the knots, then the community detangler brush goes in a Barbicide bath and the kids can get back to work feeling more comfortable and confident. There are smaller combs available for kids to take home and practice that responsibility on their own, too.  

The sparkly hairclips and headbands widened some eyes when Fausett first showed her students the Care Closet, but she used this opportunity to teach wants versus needs to her young students.  

“We talked about if we take something when we want it, then we might be taking it from somebody later on who needs it,” Fausett said. “So we’re having those conversations and it’s really healthy and good for the kids to know there’s boundaries between their wants and needs and that we are a community, and we do take care of each other, and we’re brothers and sisters in education.” 

Fausett’s Instagram, @mrs.fausett, is the best way to find out what is going on with the Care Closet and view the classroom’s digital wishlists. Items ordered will go straight to Faussett’s classroom. Hairbrushes would be especially appreciated. Cash donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-stock-the-care-closet?attribution_id=sl:43f738bc-4fcf-4f30-ad1c eb1652e2621a&utm_campaign=man_ss_icons&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link.  

Fausett hopes the Care Closet idea will catch on and is more than willing to help out other schools that may be interested in getting one started.  

“Sometimes we just need a little extra support from our community,” she said.