The Arlington Kids’ Kloset Formula: Shopping + School = Success

Mosaic Insurance Alliance Donates $590 to this innovative shopping experience that has helped Snohomish County youth since 2005

Have you ever thought that clothes could help a child or teenager learn at school? Clothes don’t tend to be in the equation for many when they think of academic success. Our nonprofit for the first quarter of 2023 has a different hypothesis that is clearly stated on their website:

“Meeting the clothing needs of all eligible children, in a friendly, pleasant, and positive atmosphere that nurtures self-esteem, and thus enhances learning.”

“I am committed to improving the self-esteem of students by investing in Kids’ Kloset, which provides trendy, quality clothing to students in need,” says Kimberly Meno in her bio on the website to further explain the clothing + academic mission of Kids’ Kloset. “Everyone should feel good about what they are wearing to school, and if just one person’s self-esteem is improved by ‘shopping’ at Kids’ Kloset, we are making a difference in our community. I love the kids and want to make Kids’ Kloset a friendly, inviting, and fun place for students who need our services.”

Arlington Kids’ Kloset was founded in 2005 by Kimberly who also happens to be a former Arlington High School teacher. You can learn more about their history on their website, Facebook page, and in this Everett Herald post.

Go Shopping

Arlington Kids’ Kloset is ready to help preschool-12th grade kids who attend these school districts:

Arlington
Darrington
Granite Falls
Lakewood

All you have to do is call them and make an appointment to shop! They are located in the old Arlington high school. Also, if your kid is worried that they might run into a classmate, rest assured that Kids’ Kloset makes it a top priority to preserve privacy. In addition to teens having the ability to browse without their parents if they want to, no two students from the same school will ever have overlapping appointments.

Make Shopping Possible

People of all ages and backgrounds have come together over almost two decades to help push the Arlington Kids’ Kloset vision and make it a reality. (Click here for a closer look at the community pictures in the carousel.) Are you interested in joining the volunteer team or helping their cause with an item donation? See the bullets below!

Current Donation Items Needed:

Arlington Kids’ Kloset welcomes new or lightly used clothing.

Badly in need of summer little boy and girl pajama sets (sizes ranging from 4T through 14)
Always in need of sweatshirts for all ages (they get passed out all year long)
Girl shirts (sizes ranging from 4T to 14)
Boy shirts (sizes ranging from 4T to 12)
Boy and girl dress clothes for prom, recitals, homecoming, and the like.
New socks and underwear for kids of all ages.
New health and beauty items. (The dollar store is a great place for these items.) Examples: male and female deodorants, tampons and pads, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hairbrushes, combs, makeup, hairbows, hair gel, hairspray, purses, etc.
Other items you can donate include gift cards, new or lightly used shoes, kid and teen books, school supplies, and backpacks.

If you would like to make a donation, you can drop items off at any of their four drop sites in town:

Their building: 135 South French Ave, Arlington (Park on the street and follow the sign to the back left-side of the building where you will find their donation bin.)
Allstate Insurance/Scott Pate’s office: Haggen’s shopping center at 7420 204th St NE, Arlington
Arlington Pediatric Dentistry: 3710 168thSt NE, Suite B-105, Arlington
Heritage Bank Smokey Point: 4220 172nd St NE, Arlington

Giving Back in Other Ways

1. Volunteer Your Time

Help sort incoming donations at the Arlington Kids’ Kloset clothing bank.
Bring home recently donated clothes, wash them, and bring them back ready to hand out to youth in need.
Assist with other needed items at the clothing bank.
Ask to volunteer: info@kids-kloset.org ; 360-435-4875

2. Run a Clothing Drive

Help get the community involved, whether it is your church, school, neighborhood, club, or you and a group of friends.
Steps on planning, promoting, collecting, and delivering can be found here.
You can run a campaign for needed items over the course of a few weeks or months. Then, when the drive is over, deliver to AKK!

3. Interact with Their Facebook Page

Follow them on Facebook here.
Sharing, liking, and commenting on posts can help others see their page. Interaction helps spread awareness about their cause and needs, helping increase donations, as well as helping those in need discover them and find needed resources.

4. Jump on Amazon Opportunities

Amazon Wish List: You can also visit their Amazon Wish List. Using Amazon Wish Lists makes donating a new item super easy—you buy an item(s) that they need, and Amazon delivers the order to the charity!
AmzonSmile: Also, if you’re not able to make a wish list purchase right now but still want to give back, you can select Kids’ Kloset as your Amazon charity. After setting up AmazonSmile, select them as your charity; order your usual items in the app or on your computer—such as groceries, toiletries, laundry soap, and garbage bags; and Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to Kids’ Kloset at no cost to you! Steps and info about AmazonSmile here.

Welcome Our Next Charity of the Quarter—Everett Recovery Café!

“Traditionally, a person receives support when they are in crisis and finds that the support is removed once they begin to experience stability,” highlights Everett Recovery Café on their website. “That model of emergency intervention and abandonment sets one up for a roller-coaster existence which is not only cruel, in that it locks one into a cycle of intense suffering and failure, it is expensive, ineffective, and a waste of human potential. It is hopeful that many states are embracing a more effective and compassionate system of care.”

For almost a decade, our next charity of the quarter has lived by a different model than what is typically seen in recovery homes and rehab—one that has been effective for many parts of Washington. In fact, their mission started in Seattle and has spread across Washington and other states. The first Recovery Café was founded in Seattle, WA in 2016. The Everett location has also been open since 2016, and it did not take long for additional locations to open up.

“Our model is referred to by the larger behavioral health community as a Recovery Orientated System of Care (ROSC),” continues Everett Recovery Café. “An ROSC meets people where they are on the recovery continuum, engages them for a lifetime of managing their disease, focuses holistically on a person’s needs, and empowers them to build a life that realizes their full potential. This person-centered system of care supports a person as they establish a healthy life and recognizes that we all need a meaningful sense of membership and belonging in community.”

Get Help

The Everett Recovery Café aims to give every person they help “access to recovery circles, community meals, classes, service work, recovery coaching, peer leadership, and hospitality.” You’ll also have a means to learn about current local resources available regarding food, shelter, clothing, and transportation.

The Café’s address: 1212 California St. Everett, WA 98201
The Café’s contact information: 425-258-5630; info@everettrecoverycafe.org
Anyone is welcome to be a guest and visit the Everett Recovery Café for the day.
To visit the café, you must be at least 24 hours drug and alcohol-free.
Follow them on Facebook and YouTube to get to know their cause better and see if they might be a good fit for you.
In addition to YouTube, you can watch success stories here on their website.
If you think the café can help you, become a member.
Most treatment programs are 1-6 months.
You’ll have a safe space to eat and socialize. Sometimes there are other fun activities like karaoke and arts and crafts.
You can also use the computer to create a resume, do job hunts, complete homework, and the like.
There are events throughout the year. You can see upcoming events here.
You can subscribe to their newsletter to stay in the loop.
If you need immediate assistance, here are telephone hotlines they recommend you use for help now. You can also find links to Washington recovery helplines, overdose prevention steps, domestic violence warning signs and safety plan steps, and behavioral treatment locators here.
Are you not located near Everett? There are other Recovery Cafés—57 currently! There are more than 10 in Washington state, and others are located in different states, including Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Washington D.C., North Carolina, Maine, Massachusetts, Florida, Minnesota, and Arizona. They also have a location in Canada. Scroll down to the bottom of the page here for the map of different locations. You can click on a location for the address and to view the website for that specific location.

Give Help

A little act of kindness can go a long way.

Volunteer your time: https://www.everettrecoverycafe.org/volunteer/
Become a recovery coach: https://www.everettrecoverycafe.org/recovery-coach-academy/
Help with donations. Click here to find a list of merchants that will donate a portion of your purchases to Recovery Café. You can also donate your old vehicle, or things like journals and food. Anything helps, including artwork you’ve created that they can sell to support the café.
Refer those you know to Mosaic for a free insurance quote. For every referral between April 1 and July 31, 2023, we will donate $10 to Everett Recovery Café. Learn more about how to send a referral below.

BIG Thanks!

Thank you to all who helped make our $590 donation to Arlington Kids’ Kloset possible. Referring those in your life for a free personal or commercial insurance quote is simple and easy for you and those you refer, but it makes a big difference for those in our community.

For the first quarter of 2023, our donation went towards helping youth get the clothes that they need. For the second quarter, our donation will go towards helping others of all ages in the community find and benefit from a welcoming environment so that they can focus on their recovery and work towards new goals.

1. Send a Referral in Minutes

Let us know that you have someone you want to refer by giving us their contact information via phone, email, or our referral form.
Or, let them know about us so that they can reach out to us to let us know that you referred them for a free quote.

2. Who Can You Refer?

Family—your kids, grandkids, parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.
Friends
Neighbors
Coworkers
Local businesses that you love
Others you know who could benefit from an insurance makeover, insurance discount assessment, and/or the perks of an independent insurance agent.

3. Interact with the Everett Recovery Café’s Facebook Page

Follow them on Facebook here.
Follow us on social media and interact with our posts too! We’ll be posting about the café throughout the next three months. We are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google, and Yelp.
Sharing, liking, and commenting on posts can help others see their page. Interaction helps spread awareness about their cause and needs, helping increase donations, as well as helping those in need discover them and find needed resources.