Take a Look Inside “Maggie Lee’s Closet”

Maggie Lee Henson's caring spirit is being celebrated once again, through a program her mom Jinny calls "Maggie Lee's Closet." Mrs. Henson tells me it's a free kids' clothes closet located in the basement of the Highland Center at 520 Olive Street.

"My husband John noticed kids coming into The Lighthouse and they would maybe have one uniform Monday through Friday," Henson says. "And he just said, 'You know, we can do better than that. We can do something about that.'"

That's how the clothes closet was created. "We totally renovated the space," Henson says. "Moonbot Studios made an incredible mural." She tells me kids can come out to the upscale boutique, pick out uniforms, socks, undies and an outfit three times a year...then come out and model their new attire on a stage. They can even have their pictures taken in front of the mural.

So how important is something like this here in our area? Mrs. Henson told me the story of a young girl who got in serious trouble at school because of a problem that Maggie Lee's Closet was able to remedy.

"This girl just moved from one home to another home. She lived with a relative, and was disciplined for taking her undies off every day," Henson says. "The school counselor got to talking with her, and she started crying. And it turns out this girl wears a size 12, but she was in a size 8 underwear. And she was about to be kicked out of school for her discipline problem, when all along it was something simple like that."

Henson says there are so many wonderful, caring people who have come together to make this closet a reality. "We can't fix all the problems in our community, much less the world, but there are a lot of things that are really easy fixes," she says. And when the little girl's school counselor showed up at her house with a bag full of clothes and undergarments, she ran out to show them all off to her friends in the neighborhood.

If you miss out on tomorrow's clothing drive at Shreveport Little League Ballpark, stop by and make a donation at the Highland Center.

LISTEN TO MY FULL INTERVIEW WITH JINNY HENSON HERE: