Make your mark

From apples to zebra cakes and everything in between, I’ve heard stories of graduating seniors “leaving their mark,” mostly on undeserving homes and cars in town on senior night. This ritual has been around for decades in many towns across Wisconsin and the U.S. It accomplishes absolutely nothing.

River Falls’ Class of 2022 graduate, Olivia Redmond, definitely left her mark, but it was the exact opposite on the senior shenanigan spectrum.

Olivia Redmond put her effort and extra time into something good. She built Wiley’s Wardrobe.

“There are people in our community struggling and you don’t see people out on the street corner,” said Redmond. “But because of what my mom does, I know there is a big need.”

Redmond’s mom, Shelly Smith, would know. She’s the Director of Our Neighbors’ Place, a non-profit organization that helps provide sustainable housing and basic needs to area residents.

In November 2021, Redmond was shadowing Jacqueline Graham, a social worker for the River Falls middle and high schools. Redmond was interested in social work and was thinking about making a career out of it. There was a small closet in the guidance counselor’s office at River Falls High School containing four small boxes of old clothes, two plastic blue bins, a few puzzles, some granola bars, and half a trash bag of tennis shoes for students that needed these items.

Olivia Redmond transformed this crammed unorganized mini-closet into an entire room that looks like a department store complete with clothing racks and sections for all their available items where her fellow Wildcat peers in need can take anything for free, no questions asked.

“There was a girl living in a car with her family and she asked if she could have a blanket because it was cold,” said Redmond, “I gave her a quilt that Martha’s Quilt Group donated to us and the look I saw in that girl’s eyes was why I did this.”

Wiley’s Wardrobe provides clothing, coats, blankets, food, school supplies, and money for things like prom tickets and homecoming T-shirts. Redmond thought they might have one or two kids per day coming in, but it has been a steady stream of kids every single day before and after school.

“It’s sad so many kids need it, but it makes me happy that it’s being used as much as it is,” said Redmond.

Redmond had to speak in front of the school board for the idea to be approved and then a long list of businesses and groups for donations.

“It was nerve-racking speaking in front of the school board, but it was good to get the word out,” said Redmond. “My mom said the more times I speak in front of people, the easier it gets.”

And speak she did, to the Lion’s Club, the Rotary Club, Hope Lutheran Church, Kailey’s Beauty Salon, Alina Hospital, Valley Pools & Spas, Sporting World, and the Food Pantry. They all gave and so did the Wildcat students.

Wiley’s Wardrobe is now an entire room in the back of the counselor’s office where students in need can shop. It also doubles as a secluded area where counselors can check in to see how everything else is going in the kids’ world.

This year there will be a new spirit section for game theme nights like a “white-out” or “Hawaiian Night.” “If a kid thinks they don’t have a Hawaiian shirt or a lei so they’re not going to go to the game, we’re going to have that stuff here,” said Redmond. “The seniors graduating in spring aren’t going to need Hawaiian shirts after high school, so they can donate it back. It seems like we have the same game themes every year and going to games is fun for everyone.”

I would tell Olivia Redmond to go speak with the River Falls High School Athletic Booster Club to help with the spirit section donations, but she has graduated and is now in her first week at Loyola University-Chicago and majoring in, you guessed it, social work.

Before Redmond graduated, though, she recruited 25 members to run Wiley’s Wardrobe this coming year and they now have committees for fundraising, public speaking, and marketing. They will have their own business cards and they will be in the business of helping their fellow students.

“I’m very excited to see how many students want to be involved and give back to their peers,” said Redmond. “It’s in super good hands. I’m excited to see what new ideas they have.”

Olivia Redmond left her mark on River Falls High School and her community. She did it with hard work, class, and care. Here’s a message to the 2023 senior classes in our area for your first week back to school; make your mark.