By NOAH FRANCIS, Solutions News Bureau
When Michigan temperatures start to drop, students around Oakland University get ready to brave Michigan’s unruly winter with a warm coat, and a pair of gloves on standby. While many students have access to warm clothes, some do not have that luxury, and cannot afford the clothing they need. Grizz Garments is Oakland University’s response to the problem.
The Grizz Garments is a service that allows Oakland University students to take the clothing they need, whether it is to combat the cold, or to have acceptable clothing for job interviews, all for free.
Both the Grizz Garments and Golden Grizzly Pantry are managed by Isabella Levitt, an OU student working on a Masters Degree in Social Work. While the service is fairly new, Levitt has implemented changes to make the Grizz Garments more accessible, and more appealing than ever.
“We have a mannequin outside the pantry, and we change his outfit every week to try and show people what is possible with the clothing that we have. The students themselves go in and curate the outfit, so we’re trying to show what’s possible.”
Another addition to the service is the “Grab N Go” garment rack, located outside of the pantry, giving easy access to students walking by.
“We have a garment rack outside with some additional items so people can take those without coming in,” Levitt said. “So in case they’re worried about asking for help or the appearance of coming into the garment closet and pantry space, they can grab something off that rack.”
While the service started out with just business casual clothing, Levitt and her team were able to expand into regular casual clothing.
“We had a couple of students mentioning that they were in need of those items. And that was part of the realization that items weren’t moving as fast because students don’t always need business casual, they always need t-shirts, or jeans and leggings, or sweaters, so we wanted to expand our services.”
While students can walk in and grab an outfit for free, Grizz Garments has customers use a checkout form to keep track of how many items they give away.
“On the checkout form, they weigh the amount of food they’re taking out or they write the number of garments,” Levitt said. “We get a report at the end of the month that shows how many garments students took. If somebody brings in a donation, and they bring in 15 blouses, they write 15, so we can have an accurate record of what’s coming in and what’s going out.”
According to their reports dating back to March, 2023, there have been 611 garments donated, and 464 garments distributed, with 90 garments taken from the “Grab n Go” garment rack.
While Levitt and their team were able to help the service grow, the Grizz Garments service has run into a few problems in the past, with certain donations being a hurdle.
“We ran into a problem for a while where the clothing ended up being a little bit outdated, so students weren’t utilizing it,” Levitt said. “They were not well received by students so nothing was moving. We go through probably once a week and see what clothing items haven’t moved, then get rid of those and donate them elsewhere so we can make room for more stuff.”
Levitt’s biggest limitation of the Grizz Garments is a stigma that surrounds many clothing closets.
“The biggest obstacle is the stigma around asking for help,” Levitt said. “The stigma is just so hard to get around because it can be really vulnerable and embarrassing to come ask for any kind of help, so we just try to make it as safe space for people to comment as possible.”
Despite the major limitation, Levitt and their team have methods to go around the stigma, and help students in need.
“We’ve been trying to make the pantry like a physically welcoming space,” Levitt said. “We try to make it as much like a shopping experience as possible as opposed to coming to get government assistance. We’re really trying to create an experience where it doesn’t feel degrading.”
This method is effective with the students using the service. According to a customer who frequents the service, the Golden Grizzlies Pantry in general has helped them and their son.
“I must admit it’s a judge free zone which is such a vibe. This goes a long way when you walk in, they all make you feel so welcome to be there.”
Despite the hurdles found along the way, Oakland University’s Grizz Garments has grown into a warm and inviting resource that any student can use. For those looking to prepare for Michigan’s cold winters, Grizz Garments is a great place to start.
Schedule an appointment to donate or shop at Grizz Garments Booking.
Top photo by Becca McHaffie on Unsplash