Wildcat Threads allows students to pick out clothes, shoes and more

Students at Wilmington Middle School can now come home with some stylish clothes from the newly opened in-school store called Wildcat Threads.
The store, opened on Feb. 5, is stocked with clothes, jackets, shoes and accessories for students to choose from — and it’s all free.
“I had some old clothes that I didn’t know what to do with,” Taylor Riccolo, eighth grade science teacher, said. “I wanted to give back to the kids that I actually work with and within the middle school.”
Riccolo talked with other staff members at the school — sixth and seventh grade special education teacher Stephanie Bailey and paraprofessional Mary Studer — and they formed the concept for Wildcat Threads as a place for students to easily access clothes right at school.
It quickly grew from giving out clothes from a bag in a classroom to becoming a designated store where students can browse the racks to find what they need — or want.
The store is open for all students every other week on Thursday. It’s open before school, the last 10 minutes of lunch and after school.
So far the organizers received good feedback from students, and students from each grade level have even volunteered to help with the store. Volunteers are eager to help other students pick out clothes and find the right size.
Wildcat Threads is accepting donations. Donations should be smoke-free and gently used. Space is limited, but if donations can’t be used they will be donated to other charitable organizations in town.