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Miami Palmetto High School junior Kate Markus runs SharingWear.org, a website for students to order spirit shirts and other merchandise.
The website was created in 2019 when her sister Nicole noticed Palmetto did not have a place where they could sell apparel and yet students needed to buy spirit merchandise for Spirit Day every Friday. Now that Nicole is away at Northwestern, Kate is in charge.
“We have many designs and each design we have in a range of shirts, sweaters, mugs,” she says.
The spirit wear has all been designed by the Markus sisters.
“We have multiple different stores,” Kate says. “We have a general store and also host specific stores for clubs and organizations.”
SharingWear was started to not only provide Palmetto with the spirit merchandise, but also to raise money for charities. Profits from the general store goes to the charity of the month.
The profits from the Palmetto sweaters, tee shirts and sweatshirts go to the PTSA.
Since its inception, SharingWear has raised more than $17,000.
The charity work has expanded to include collection of gently used clothing for the Fresh Start campaign. Kate has collected more than 250 items of clothing for Riverside House, which helps formerly incarcerated individuals, and Glory House, which helps people get back on their feet.
Planning for Fresh Start begin in December and clothing collection began Jan. 10.
“I have a collection box outside my house,” she says. “There is a collection box at Palmetto. We clean them and take them to Glory House and Riverside House.”
She also picks up donations from friends and family.
Along with SharingWear, Markus is involved in Volunteering Miami. She’s the public relations coordinator and she reaches out to the organizations that appear on the Volunteering Miami website.
“It’s basically a website that organizations can put their company up and people can volunteer,” she says. “It connects student volunteers with companies that need it. We are working with 100 plus companies.”
Volunteering Miami recently held a Volunteer Fair at Thalatta Estate in Palmetto Bay.
“We had many students come and sign up to volunteer.,” she says. “We’re having another one March 4 at Palmetto High School.”
Markus is also the special projects coordinator of the Pinecrest City Music Project, a student run organization that provides music classes to elementary, middle and high school students.
“People who wouldn’t otherwise get this instruction get it through PCMP,” she says.
PCMP also hosts the South Miami- Dade Schools Arts Fest and Music at the Gardens at Pinecrest Gardens.
She goes around to schools involved to pick up the art that will be featured. She also raises funds for the organization.
“PCMP has raised $500,000 in government grants,” she says.
She is a contributing writer for the Daily Business Review – she writes a column with her father, attorney David Markus, that focuses on current topics in the law and on the intersection between law and psychology.
She had written for the Palmetto newspaper in her freshman and sophomore year.
She’s the author of the Best of the Best for Sept 2022 for the Florida Villager.
At school she’s the student council treasurer, a member of the National Honor Society, the Spanish National Honor Society, and the English National Honor Society.
Although college applications won’t be due until next fall, her list currently includes Duke and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Psychology major.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
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