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Show t 12 | October 28, 2019 | MyWeberMedia.com By ALLY NELSON Reporter Exhausted, hardworking parents arrive home and the thought of creating a special memory with their children passes from their mind. However, memories are often made from the little things. Gina Arditti-Lopez, WSUSA’s Diversity and Unity Board community awareness chair, aims to support low-income families with events like Frankenstein’s Closet. For Frankenstein’s Closet, the WSUSA Diversity and Unity Board gathered Halloween costumes to set up a closet for children to find, try on and select an outfit for Halloween. Coming from a low-middle class background, Arditti-Lopez said she would have appreciated an organized event where she could bring her friends, pick out costumes and participate in children’s activities. Rather than organizing a simple costume-drive, Arditti-Lopez said it was important for her and other WSUSA committee members that children create memories, allowing children to be themselves in a safe space with their friends and family. An element of the drive that Arditti-Lopez loved was that children could mix and match accessories to create a one-of-a-kind ensemble. If they wanted to be a Rapunzel Spider-Man, they had the freedom to do so. Diversity and Inclusive Programs Coordinator Andrea Hernández compared the project to her high school years in California. Growing up in a low-to-middle-income family, finding the perfect dress for Hernández and her friends to attend Homecoming was not simple. Often, she could not find affordable dresses, so she made her own with her mother’s help. Looking back, she liked it that way, knowing what she wore was made specifically for her. WSUSA took into account that low-income families can’t always afford to spend money on a costume worn one day of the year, so the project was geared specifically toward low-income families in the Ogden community. “I hope this relieves some stressors off parents and guardians so they don’t have to worry that their child can’t go trick-ortreating or participate in a very muchso cultural norm activity because they don’t have the financial means to do so,” Hernández said. Ariel’s Closet was a similar event held at Hernández’s high school, allowing girls to choose a dress they could feel confident in and gain a sense of inclusion. According to Hernández, the times she remembers most are when she or her mother designed her costumes for Halloween. “That’s the great thing about costumes,” Hernández said. “You get to make them unique to your personality.” Hernández made an Ursula costume one year by herself. Because she could not sew, she hot glued the dress together. She said it never mattered to her how it sounded because she appreciated the hard work put into it. “Those are the memories I loved because I put all my time and energy into it. I custom created it to fit my own body and made sure I felt good about it,” Hernández said. “Creating memories is what I hope these children get out of Frankenstein’s Closet the most.” Comment on this story at: signpost.mywebermedia.com |