‘Stop looking into it.’: UP Foster Closet leader met with inaction after landlord admits theft

IRON RIVER, Mich. (WJMN) — Allegations of theft from a charity for foster children were debated in a packed board room at Iron River’s Windsor Center on Monday night after a plea for help on Facebook went viral earlier this month.

The post was made by the UP Foster Closet of Iron County’s current president Rachel Gramann, who first went to the Windsor Center Administration Board in June with her concerns about Building Manager Dawn Pisoni.

We’re told she asked for Pisoni to be suspended or relieved of her duties, but said she was met with indifference and a refusal to act.

“A number of them told me that they weren’t going to do anything, to stop looking into it, to not come to their meetings and to just let it go… and I’m not okay with public officials telling me that someone stealing is okay just because they’ve also done a lot of good for the community,” said Gramann.

Her immediate concerns stemmed from security camera video of Pisoni entering the Foster Closet’s room on the 3rd floor of the Windsor Center just after 7 p.m. on May 17 and taking a pair of black running shoes.

Before a room packed with community members attending the June 8 meeting, Pisoni read a statement of apology similar to an email she sent us in response to a request for comment:

The Windsor Center has two Closets. The Community Closet, which is free to the public, and the UP Foster Closet of Iron County, which is free to all foster parents. As the Day-to-Day Facilitator, I have access to all rooms to check heat and water leaks, if there is an issue by the renter, being the Windsor Center was built in 1928.

As a former secretary (Board Member) of the UP Foster Closet, I had access to the Foster Closet to allow foster parents to receive items from the Closet, which all items were documented. In May, The Windsor Center held an elementary track meet and a student needed a pair of running shoes.

The Community Closet did not have a pair his size, so I checked in the Foster Closet. There was a size 5 pair of shoes on the shelf.

I took the shoes and brought them to the track meet. The boy brought his school shoes for the meet and the Foster Closet shoes went to his half-brother. The half-brother participated in flag football in June and is still wearing the shoes I gave him. I offered $20 to pay for the shoes after the fact.

E-mail from Dawn Pisoni

“I apologize to all foster parents, and the foster closet board who I’ve offended. It will not happen again,” said Pisoni.

For context, the Windsor Center—once a public school—is now a community hub used to host events as well as a space for local businesses and nonprofits. The UP Foster Closet of Iron County is one of several organizations of its type across the peninsula.

What followed Dawn’s apology was over 30 minutes of public comment, with many people defending Pisoni’s character from what they saw as an inappropriate approach or overreaction to the incident.

“She’s apologized—I agree it might not have been right, but it was done with the right heart,” said Darla Bunnell, who owns a business in the Windsor Center.

Teresa Nelson, treasurer of Bates Township said she’s known Dawn for 25 years, and that “she’s trustworthy, she’s honest, and she puts children above anything else. So when she sees a child in need, maybe she doesn’t think twice about what she’s doing, but she wants to help that child.”

Another man, who said he was also helping with the track meet that day, said, “a pair of shoes? Really? This is insane that this is over a pair of shoes.”

Amid the comments, Gramann explained in her statement that her post on social media was far from her first attempt to rectify the situation. “I came as one to Dawn, and it didn’t fix the issue. I came as a few to the Windsor board meeting, and you all said it wasn’t enough. I came as a larger group to your municipalities, and you said you wouldn’t do anything. Now I come to you as many, and I ask you again, resolve this.”

Meanwhile, others sympathetic to the operators of the Foster Closet were quick to point out that for them, the theft of the shoes was just the tip of the iceberg.

“I am friends with Dawn. I love Dawn. but I can still love Dawn, and not agree with her actions… two past presidents and Rachel, all three, have said ‘Dawn has taken things from the UP Foster Closet for her personal use.’ This is not about one pair of shoes… it’s a pattern of ongoing theft,” said Jeanine Garcia.

Gramann also explained that even if UP Foster Closet staff did decide to turn a blind eye, potential consequences for allowing it could be serious. “If people are donating with one intention and we’re giving to someone else, that causes a lot of issues… if I come in here and I just take whatever I want for my kids, that’s illegal. And there’s a lot of tax implications of that.”

Gramann said that’s largely due to their status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the guidlelines set by their mission statement.

In an interview before the meeting, founding president of Iron County’s UP Foster Closet Jackie Judd told Local 3 that conflict with Pisoni has existed since the beginning. She said soon after opening toward the end of 2020, Pisoni doubled the rent of the Foster Closet from $50 to $100 after she moved some of Dawn’s personal items out of the space they were renting.

Judd said she interpreted the move as a vindictive act, but conceded that Pisoni had told her the increase was due to having more space now that her items were removed.

During Monday’s meeting, Judd also mentioned another incident where another board member had seen Dawn giving two large bags of supplies two a family that was low-income but did not qualify to receive donations from the Foster Closet.

“I confronted Dawn immediately,” said Judd, “and she said ‘sorry, this will not happen again…’ and just wanted to let the community know that I was told this would not happen again three years ago.”

Gramann also told Local 3 that her involvement with the UP Foster Closet happened in part because of ongoing theft. Gramann said she reached out to the previous president of the Foster Closet after getting asked to care for four siblings, but was told the closet only had supplies for one of them.

According to her, the previous president said it was at least in part because of a decline in donations due to the public learning of the thefts and deciding not to continue to donate. Gramann said the situation had overwhelmed the prior president, and inspired her to help out and ultimately take over the role.

Ultimately on Monday night at the Windsor Center, no action was taken by the board after all words were exchanged about the accusations against Dawn.

In one poignant moment, one woman sitting a row ahead of Gramann turned to her and referred to another speaker who had said Rachel had told him that if she got an apology, she wouldn’t pursue the issue any longer.

“Rachel, do you accept her apology?” asked Melody Fittante.

“I don’t—I don’t believe her apology,” said Gramann, “because she was told before not to, and she said she wouldn’t, and it continued to happen.”

After some small interjections, Fittante said “so you don’t accept her apology. I go to the same church as you, and we know—if someone apologizes to you, we need to accept it and move on. Jesus has called us to do that, and as a Christian this is just breaking my heart, to see Christians crucifying other people… I love you, I love Dawn. I don’t want to see this fight going on. We need to forgive and move on.”

“I understand that Melody, I really do,” said Gramann, “but you have to understand: if someone says I’m not gonna do it again, and then they do it again, at some point you stop believing them… and at some point, you have to go to the level above them to the Windsor Board and say ‘you have to stop this,’ and they wouldn’t.”

By the end of Monday’s meeting, the Windsor Board again took no action against Pisoni. Afterward she declined our request for an interview, while Gramann said she was disappointed some people focused on the shoes instead of the alleged history of theft, and said from her perspective it seemed like people held two standards of justice.

We were also told of a criminal investigation into the allegations with charges forwarded by local police to the Iron County Prosecuting Attorney, but have been unable to reach their office for information.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Gramann said she was taking time to regroup and determine any next steps they may take.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned to Local 3 on-air and online for the latest updates.

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