The Clothes Closet: An CSJ Ministry Extension

Posted on December 2, 2015

I met a volunteer recently who works in the Clothes Closet, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph located at 2200 Nicollet Avenue.  The Clothes Closet is a place where students at LIS as well as others in the neighborhood can come to get free clothes or small household items.  It is open from 11:00 – 2:00 on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The volunteer and I began a discussion that went like this:

Teacher Connie:  I really appreciate the work you do out there, but aren’t you cold working in the garage today?

Volunteer:  Not really, I enjoy my work in the Clothes Closet.  I like meeting the students and getting to know them.   I teach them to say “please” and “thank you” when they ask for our receive things.

Teacher Connie:  That is wonderful!  We do that in our classes also.

Volunteer:  The Clothes Closet is a good place for your students to practice their English.

Teacher Connie:  Yes!  That is true.  It gives them a chance to use their English in a situation they will find themselves in often.  I want to bring my class down there when we are studying about clothes, shopping, etc. to practice in a “real setting.”

Volunteer:  One day a Hispanic student approached a Somali student and said, “Here, you need this for your baby when she/he is born.”  This would not happen in Target, but it can happen here.  The students from different cultures are interacting and using their English to speak to each other.

I realized then that the Clothes Closet is really an extension of our English classes at Learning In Style School!  Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who work so generously in our big Clothes Closet.

–Submitted by Teacher Connie.

VOLUNTEERS are needed at the Clothes Closet! For information please contact Marie Herbert Seiter, CSJ at mhseiter@csjstpaul.org.  The Clothes Closet is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

For volunteer opportunities at other ministries sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph go to their website, http://www.csjministriesfoundation.org.

Editor’s Note: Just the other day a man came to the Clothes Closet with a big need. He needed a pair of shoes. This man had to borrow shoes from a friend so he could walk to the Clothes Closet to get shoes for himself.