El Toro High School Student Exchange Making a Difference For All

LAKE FOREST, CA — The El Toro High School Student Exchange Club expects a record crowd of students looking for winter formal wear on Jan. 19.

There will be a lunchtime line at the dedicated high school thrift shop where kids in need can file in to select new and gently used donated dresses, shoes and formal items they otherwise might not be able to afford.

“In high school, it’s all about clothes for many of these kids,” special education teacher Morgan Fundingsland said. “You would be surprised how many kids have nothing, even in Orange County.”

Fundingsland, along with her daughter Ashley and students Madison Miller and Ali Lawson, run the student exchange club.

Morgan Fundingsland discussed the upcoming formal wear sale, saying the club has gathered last minute donations, washed, folded and sorted everything from bags to dresses, shoes to jackets and costume jewelry, all for students and all for free, no questions asked.

The Exchange store is the result of this small group of students who wanted to improve the lives of those in need, providing an onsite “shopping mall” where those without means or ability can find the perfect gently used, new to them, clothes and accessories that improve both meager wardrobes and buoy self-esteem of those who shop and work there.

“When special needs kids reach high school suddenly so much more is expected of them,” Morgan Fundingsland said in an interview. “They come in, they do their work, they go home. People don’t notice them, but I began to see a trend.”

Before the El Toro Student Exchange was born, Morgan Fundingsland recalled a special needs teen in her class who only had one shirt they liked to wear, and another who didn’t have a jacket and needed one. After discussing the matter with her daughter, Ashley, the mother-daughter pair decided to do something about it.

Gaining permission to go through the school’s lost and found, they made use of a nearby laundromat.

“We washed and sorted everything, then offered the items to kids in need,” she said. Pure donation, but it changed everything. “We started small, asking teachers and friends of my daughter for donations of clothes,” she said. “Now, the whole school knows about it. Not just for kids that don't have anything or are in need, but the store is open to everybody. They shop for free.”

The student exchange thrives on donations from community and staff at El Toro High School. The club members who run the store visit garage sales on weekends, seeking things that their students might want.

“We give a letter from our club and do a donation for taxes,” she said. Teacher Jacqueline Kelly went a step further.

“Miss Kelly brought in so much for our first exchange store,” she said. “She really helped us get this going. Blankets, shoes, jewelry, clothing, she brought these things in, gave fuel to start the club, and we helped so many kids.”

Leftover items after the sale went to a local veterans' outreach, Morgan Fundingsland said, adding, “Whatever we don't use, it goes to someone else.”

The club that runs the store started in earnest in 2014. El Toro High School Principal Terri Gusiff granted it a dedicated classroom for its storefront.

Five core kids have given up extra time to collect donations, visit yard sales and sort and fold items they feel will benefit the students who shop there.

“Now, my daughter is a senior, and she and her senior friends are looking for a group of kids to hand this project off to,” Morgan Fundingsland said.

Though the store gathers items for big events, they are there day to day to provide for those in need.

“Kids come in needing a jacket, or having been dress coded,” she said. "In the few years that we have had this going, there has never been one incident of anyone being disrespectful or negative. My classroom fills up with a hundred kids, just shopping."

There is a place for all El Toro kids to go. And now, word is getting out to other schools in the Saddleback School District. Thanks to the superintendent, donations from other schools are coming in, and leftover items are transferred to Los Alisos for their outreach programs.

"It’s all about helping people," she said. “There are so many people willing to help and donate. There is a lot of compassion in Lake Forest. Believe it.”

How to Donate:

• drop off at the front office of El Toro High School
• message through facebook: Facebook.com/eltoroexchange

Photos, courtesy Morgan Fundingsland, El Toro High School