"Clothing the Gap"
Our Story
Before having the idea to create I Love Lake Oswego (ILLO) Clothing Closet, Ella Fuentes and Jiexi Qiao were regular volunteers at other clothing closets. They realized that there was no closet for the Lake Oswego school district, despite the fact that Lake Oswego has two title one schools, which have large concentrations of students from low income families. Inspired by the other local closets, ILLO Clothing Closet was officially created in July 2019 by Ella Fuentes. Now run by a passionate and dedicated team of high schoolers, ILLO has been striving for equity by helping other students feel comfortable in what they wear. Collectively, they hope to close gaps by bringing the community together.
Our Mission
ILLO Clothing Closet strives for equity in our community by providing resources to those in need so they can achieve their goals while promoting a welcoming environment of equity and compassion.
Meet Our Team
AnneMarie Vlaic - Executive Director and Communications Director (Social Media)
AnneMarie is a sophomore at Lake Oswego High School. She considers herself a hard worker and is passionate about helping others. She loves getting to know new people and is a very outspoken person. She loves to swim and help others while being a part of NCL; which inspires her dream to become a surgeon and olympian when she grows up. For this school year, AnneMarie wishes to bring more attention to the closet and make it super well known. She plans to keep everything organized and update social media while finding ways to reach out to her community and help as many people as she can.
Giovanni D'Orazio - Co-Executive Director and Fundraising Director
Giovanni is a junior at LOHS. He enjoys playing soccer and tennis and going skiing. He loves helping out the community and planning fun events. A goal he wishes to achieve this year is to raise a lot of money for the closet’s future location.
Hanna Faroghi- Communications Director (schools)
Hanna is a sophomore at Lake Oswego High School. She has been swimming with the Lake Oswego Swim Club and her school’s swim team. She also enjoys being on the Lake Oswego Teen Advisory Board. In her free time she works on her art, spends time with her dog, and enjoys reading. Her goals for the clothing closet are to reach out to as many people in order to bring more attention to the closet and to continue to help the closet grow.
Erya Qiao - Communications Director (website)
Erya Qiao is a sophomore at Lake Oswego high school. As an avid believer in bettering one’s community, Erya is a member of many philanthropic organizations. In her free time she enjoys competitive swimming, crocheting and reading. Her goals for ILLO are to bring more attention to the closet and to help more people throughout our community. In the future, Erya hopes to pursue a career in the medical field one day.
Lucy Xu - Secretary
Hi, my name is Lucy and I’m a freshman at LOHS. I enjoy playing tennis and hanging out in my free time. I am the administrative director of ILLO. For the upcoming school year, I want to help ILLO clothing closet gain more exposure and new audiences. I also want to help create engaging and meaningful fundraisers. I will work hard as a member of the board and contribute to the growth of ILLO.
Natalie Foss - Communications Director (Schools)
Natalie Foss is a junior at Lake Oswego High School. She plays soccer for LOHS and is involved in the choir program as well. In her free time, Natalie enjoys spending time with friends, thrifting, and traveling. Natalie is also a member of Key Club as well as Mental Health Awareness Club. Additionally, Natalie has been a member of the NCL Lake Oswego Chapter for the class of 2024 since 7th grade. She is a hard worker, and she plans on dedicating a lot of her time and energy towards the clothing closet. Her main goal is to bring more attention to the closet so more people are aware of the resources it provides for those who may need them.
Zoe Lok - Communications Director (Schools)
Zoe is a sophomore at Lake Oswego High School.
She is currently on the Varsity High School Cheer Team, the President of The Kpop Club, and a member of the National Charity League(NCL). She loves to socialize with people from many diverse backgrounds and help others whenever she is given the opportunity; which has led to a dream of getting into the medical field. Zoe joined the clothing closet board in the hopes of discovering new fun experiences, and to bring awareness to the services and resources that I Love Lake Oswego provides. As a board member, she will work hard to contribute to the growth of I Love Lake Oswego.
MieSo Kim - Volunteers Director
MieSo is a Junior at Lake Oswego High School. She is involved with the choir program and TaeKwonDo, along with AASU, Green Team and Key Club. She is passionate about art, animals, and bringing joy and comfort to others. She hopes to provide support in keeping our resources easily accessible for anyone, and to keep the flow of volunteer opportunities consistent and fulfilling for all!
Lily Schrimsher - Fundraising Director
Lily is a senior at Lake Oswego High School. As an avid believer in pursuing positive challenges and change, Lily loves both working with and helping others. She also enjoys horseback riding, skiing, music, and art.
Emma Wadley - Communications Director (schools)
My name is Emma Wadley and I am a junior at Lake Oswego High School. During the school year, I do bowling and tennis for fun! In my free time, I spend time at the lake with friends and enjoy biking around Portland! My goals for ILLO are to increase accessibility and outreach, I want to help support the organizations success!
Addy Loomis - Finance Director
Addy is a Sophomore at Lake Oswego High School.
Her goals for the closet are to make it more organized, and to spread the word so that students are aware of its resources and of what we do.
Alissa L - Programs Director
Alli Korkola - Programs Director
Cassidy Shoffit- Executive director for new product procurement
Cassidy is a sophomore at Wilsonville High School. ILLO reached out to Cassidy asking her questions about her recent involvement with 'Student of the Year' for Leukemia Lymphoma Society. She then asked questions about the closet and how she can help. With her experience with procuring auction items, she eagerly excepted our board position. Cassidy is an overachiever, and is just as compassionate and motivated to help others even outside her own community.