All about the children: Volunteer helps kids get what they need

ARLINGTON — Elizabeth Johnson sorted through piles of holiday donations to the Arlington Kids’ Kloset.

She hung new clothing on racks and set aside the best of the used clothing to be laundered and pressed.

Johnson has volunteered most Thursdays during the past two years doing whatever needs to be done at the nonprofit organization.

The Arlington resident’s favorite job, however, is helping kids “shop” for new wardrobes.

“It’s fun to watch the children come in and pick out their clothes and then primp in front of the mirror,” Johnson said. “I love to see their smiles.”

It’s less of a slip and more of a sentiment when Johnson, 80, frequently calls the Kids’ Kloset the “kids’ club.”

“It’s just a wonderful, welcoming place,” she said. “It’s pretty and clean, and decorated with a mural on the wall.”

Located in a large basement room of the old Arlington High School, the Kids’ Kloset provides clothing as well as new shoes, school supplies and hygiene products to children and teens who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches and who attend public school in the Arlington, Lakewood or Darrington school districts.

Since the doors opened in May 2005, the volunteer-operated organization, which is patterned after Clothes for Kids in the Edmonds School District, has served thousands of children. During the fall’s back-to-school session, nearly 550 children received new winter wardrobes, said Linda Dussault, director of the Kids’ Kloset.

“It makes us happy to help, yet sad because the need is so great,” Dussault said.

As a former school teacher, Dussault knows that when children have new clothes and feel good about themselves, they do a better job concentrating on learning, Johnson said.

“What we do here is all about the children,” Johnson said. “I’m just a go-fer, but Linda and the other women in charge really know how to stretch a dollar.”

With a volunteer staff and board of directors, financial support from local service clubs and donation of the space by the Arlington School District, the Kids’ Kloset runs on very little.

And the job couldn’t get done without the help of volunteers such as Johnson, Dussault said.

“Elizabeth is feisty and a dear, and one of our most loyal volunteers,” Dussault said. “I want to be just like her when I’m 80 years old.”

The shop has about 25 regular volunteers, including about a dozen teens, Dussault said.

“I would love to see more seniors volunteering at the Arlington Kids’ Kloset,” she said. “There’s always plenty to do. We’re always amazed at Elizabeth’s stamina.”

Caring for others and volunteering has long been a part of Johnson’s life.

Johnson grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, but spent time at her grandparents’ farm in Oregon. An animal lover from a young age, Johnson was studying veterinary medicine at the University of California at Davis when she met and married Gene Johnson, a civil engineer.

Elizabeth Johnson modestly describes their family, with two sons and a daughter, as average.

But their experiences included a two-year stint living in rural Thailand where her husband had a contract to help build a highway.

“Many of the up-country Thai people had never seen anybody with blue eyes,” Johnson said. “I often thought about writing a book, ‘I Wasn’t a Tourist in Thailand.’ “

The Johnson family eventually settled in Edmonds and her children graduated from Meadowdale High School. As a stay-at-home mom, Johnson volunteered often as a room mother and leader for her children’s Cub Scout packs and Girl Scout troops.

She also was a caregiver for her mother and has empathy for those who care for relatives.

“You work hard and you get through it,” she said.

After retiring, she and her husband lived for a time in a Seattle houseboat and in the San Juan Islands. When he died in 2000, Johnson moved to Arlington to be near her daughter.

Though she has five grandchildren and is busy, Johnson was happy to join the volunteers at Arlington Kids’ Kloset.

“It does a heart good,” she said. “When you get older you need to keep yourself going. The kid’s club is such happy place and you walk out after working a shift with a spring in your step.”

Reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427 or gfiege@heraldnet.com.

Kids’ Kloset

To learn more about volunteering for or donating to the Arlington Kids’ Kloset, call Linda Dussault at 360-435-4875. The organization is located at 135 S. French St., Arlington.