Santa Maria is known for its Santa Maria BBQ but also for their hard work in agriculture. Many low-income families are latinos working in an agriculture driven economy. Due to low wages, many families conform to purchasing second hand clothing or recycle their children’s clothing for younger siblings. I may not be wearing what is trending but I am grateful for the clothing that I do have because I am fortunate to. Students wearing overgrown clothing like pants and really worn out shoes became normalized for me as my years walking in and out of elementary and Fesler Junior High School. My initial perspective of this began to change because I noticed that many students and I were being bullied for our way of dressing. I wanted to create a solution without harming the environment. Some people throw out their clothing or store so many in their closet when it could be reused. I founded Odalys’ Closet Project, a non-profit organization in November 2016 welcoming the community to receive clothing breaking a social barrier. We worked with the Children’s Resource Center and also donated to other places. In Santa Maria High School, the Children’s Resource Center has been a key resource for the Santa Maria High School community because most low-income and migrant workers live around the area. The students go there all the time and it’s normalized. I hope to continue to expand this resource because it is essential to low-income families, like mine. In addition, one physical/mental health problem that we also address is reducing the bullying that students experience due to the way they dress or their family’s income. I think it is important to normalize where we come from and even though fashion makes statements, it does not define our potential. Bullying situations usually start on how we are approached and how we ourselves approach others based on dressing stereotypes. We de-stigmatize this notion of fashion and attempt to normalize second hand clothing by making regular announcements through intercoms and advertise our efforts through posters, as well as social media and school’s canvas.
Follow Us on our Social Media Platforms!
Achievements:
22 April 2017
29 Apirl 2019
* Thank you for all the Support and especially Mr.Wall for the guidance and support. (Teacher and Advisor at Fesler Junior High School).*
No comments:
Post a Comment