To help ensure every child gets to dress up for Halloween, Jessica Higgins created the Kooky Closet at Hickory Creek Elementary.
The idea that led to the extensive closet of costumes came about as an afterthought as Higgins was taking her children to school on a book character dress up day.
“We were rushing out the door and I grabbed three extra costumes – Mario, Luigi and a turtle. I thought someone may need them,” said Higgins, noting there was one child in her son’s kindergarten room who did not have a costume so they gave him one to wear. “That’s where Kooky Closet began.”
This was the fourth year Kooky Closet has provided a costume free of charge for students at Hickory Creek who do not have a costume.
“We get donations all year. I come home and there are costumes on my porch,” Higgins said.
Higgins said on the day of the Halloween gathering at the school, students come in and pick out the costumes they want to wear.
“They use it for the day and then they bring it back to me so we can use it for next year,” she noted, adding there is one particular child she has seen each year. “It just makes my heart happy to help him every year.”
Higgins said she would love to see the idea go countywide and be at every school. She said all it would take is a volunteer at each school who could collect and store the costumes and then distribute them for Halloween parties. Higgins said she would be happy to help.
“When you think of giving, you don’t think of Halloween, you think of Christmas,” she said. “Kids need help on Halloween too.”