When Bree worked at Menominee Family Services as a Social Worker, she had taken some gently used clothing from her cousins as she had some clients that could use them. She slowly started bringing more and more items including shoes from her Aunties. Her coworkers started teasing her about the pile she was accumulating in the corner of her office. One of the housekeepers found a bookshelf in the Tribe’s garage, he cleaned it up and put it in her office for her items and the name “Bree’s Closet” started.

“Bree forever put others first and truly wanted to make a difference in our Communities. When she passed away in January 2018, she touched 121 children’s lives during her short career. Bree had a personal motto that we hope everyone can try and carry through their lives:

Stay Humble, Work Hard and Be Kind.”

After Bree’s death, her family started providing donated items to the department where she worked, in her memory. In addition to the typical items (clothing, hygiene products, new or gently used dolls), they also made small blankets and bags that said, “In Memory of Bree.”
The bags were because Bree said it always bothered her when the children she served needed to be placed somewhere and some only had a garbage bag to place their belongings in.

In four years, Bree’s Closet has expanded to provide not only clothing and hygiene products, but also items like car seats, baby layette sets, and stuffed animals to families across our community including Menominee Family Services, Menominee Tribal School, Bowler School and Stockbridge-Munsee Family Services. 

The Bowler School District received a generous honorarium to provide these same services here in our school, to honor the legacy of one of our former students who dedicated herself to caring for others.