Student provides costume storage makeover
Maja Belton spent part of her summer giving the Scripps Ranch High School(SRHS) Falcon Playhouse costume department a complete makeover. She led a team that emptied the costume shed, cleaned it, replaced the old broken shelving with new shelving, and returned the costumes in bins, each clearly labeled so students can find what they need.
This labor-intensive project helped Belton earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouting. The SRHS junior is a member of Troop 3209, and has been a Girl Scout since age 5.
“I thought cleaning the costume storage at Scripps Ranch High School would be perfect because it will be long lasting, it will help the school and, for a long time, it’s been messy,” Belton said.
The description of messy is an understatement.
“A lot was thrown away. The shed was super dirty. … Things were on the floor,” Belton explained.
Everything had to be sorted, ripped costumes were disposed of and rat droppings had to be removed. This was all accomplished in the heat of July.
Her volunteers included friends, adults, Falcon Playhouse parents and students and members of the football team. Belton even enlisted friends who attend other schools.
Belton also built a system for checking costume bins out and back, so the department stays organized.
Falcon Playhouse director and SRHS theatre teacher Patrick Garcia had wanted to get the storage area cleaned up for a long time.
“He was very happy to find that there was someone willing to do it, and have a reason to do it,” Belton said.
Belton needed to gather funds for the new storage bins and shelving, so she reached out to the Falcon Playhouse Foundation which is an organization that helps support the school theatre group. The foundation met with Belton and agreed to provide funding.
Belton is a stage manager for the Falcon Playhouse. She is also a member of National Charity League; and plays piano and drums in two different rock bands. She enjoys art and fashion, and might pursue business studies in hopes of running her own business in the future.