East High community steps up to help needy students
When social worker Natasha Martinez began working at East Bakersfield High School last year, the need for a hygiene supply closet seemed urgent. The school has a high number of homeless and unaccompanied students and sometimes the red tape to get them supplies quickly could be frustrating.
Donations were an easy way to address needs directly, and it would enable students to have the kind of space she envisioned.
“I felt like I needed a stockpile,” she said. “I need a full closet where a kid can walk in and take what they need. That’s how it started.”
And thus, the Blade Closet was born. Martinez herself was an alumna of East Bakersfield who could have used the closet as a student, so she had a strong idea about what sorts of needs students had.
The first donations were toothbrushes and toothpaste from dentist’s offices but it grew to include a wide array of toiletries or clothes. The demand never stopped: Requests from teachers
and counselors kept coming in, primarily for homeless students but also students from struggling families.
But this was all in December 2019, just a few months short of the pandemic when a physical closet that a student could “shop” for their needs was a real possibility. Everything is harder now.
Martinez is dropping off supplies directly during visits to students, wherever they are. And receiving donations can be trickier, too, because it requires a socially distanced appointment time.
But the need has only grown. She said there are one-third more homeless families at East Bakersfield this year than there were last year. And that’s just from what she knows — students don’t always share what is happening in their lives.
“Homelessness is something that is only brought to your attention,” she said.
The Blade Closet hadn’t been on the radar of the East High School Booster Club until president Linda Whipple received a check from Wonderful Giving this November. Once the club found out about it, they asked what more they could do.
Whipple put out a call for donations, and they rolled in from everywhere. Alumni from the class of 1955 to recent graduates heard the call. There were locals and alumni from Oregon and Maryland. The class of 1958 was particularly helpful, Whipple said. Former Chicago Cubs player and alumnus Billy Cowan gave a sizable donation. So did Jeff and Karen Roney, who own Pacific Transport Refrigeration. The Law Office of Tim Lemucchi and the Dolores Huerta Foundation donated, too.
“I mean this favorably, but it was overwhelming,” Whipple said.
She had a friend who made blankets that would go in the hygiene kits that Martinez would put together for families. One donor would drop off air mattresses, five at a time, for students who would be going from house to house without a bed.
Some donors said there were no strings attached to the money they were donating, and so the booster club would be able to address larger family needs. One student’s family had a newborn but nothing for their baby, and the club was able to buy a stroller and carseat.
“We didn’t know that need was so great,” Whipple said. “We’re going to help her and just continue it on year-round basis.”
Leo Holland, school principal at East Bakersfield, said he’s not surprised that the school community has rallied for its own during challenging times. Both he and his wife are alumni, his children are Blades and so he understands how all the alumni have a strong sense of family. And he said that sense of family isn’t just for sports or the easy times.
“When there’s hardship, you find a way to step up and help them out,” he said.