In the fall of 2018, a group of 9th grade students, called the Agents of Change, began researching issues in their community. They learned about the significant number of unhoused teens in their area. They decided to hold a toiletries drive for the local teen homeless shelter. Their drive was so successful that the shelter couldn't take everything that was donated. They decided to store some of the products in their teacher's closet for students in the high school that might need them. Word quickly spread, and the Comfort Closet was born.
Each year, another grade level of student activists joined the Agents of Change, and the Comfort Closet continued to expand. The space grew from a closet, into an unused office, and eventually into an entire classroom, thanks to the support from Principal Meghan Roenicke. As the variety of items available to students grew, a new name, the Tiger Boutique and Haberdashery, was suggested to better express the mission. The graduating class of 2020 donated their class funds to the Boutique as their class gift, which allowed the purchase of clothing racks and shelving. Originally offering only a handful of toiletries, the Boutique now provides clothing, shoes, coats, school supplies, hygiene products, and just about anything a teenager could need.
The Tiger Boutique and Haberdashery has been able to expand and improve once again with the opening of the new Grand Junction High School. Thanks to our community that "said yes to GJHS," the beautiful new space allows us to offer an even greater variety of necessities to our students. We have also received significant support from the D51 Foundation, Katie McCarthy, Susan Coleman, The Western Colorado Community Foundation, and many other community members. We even had an amazing interior designer, Casey Sievila, offer her services and designed the entire layout and look in our new space. She is brilliant and so generous.