Last issue there was an article written to serve as a preview for an upcoming event held on campus called Cold for Coats winter drive. The drive occurred after the issue was published and went very well for everyone involved. The team of ASG students prepped, planned, and ran the coat drive on the lawn outside the library. The team collected warm winter clothing and canned food to redistribute to the downtown homeless community. The drive ran from Nov. 19-21. 

Here is an update on how the event faired.

“We are camping out in order to raise awareness,” Lydia Calderon-Aceituno, ASG’s outreach programmer said. “So by bringing the environment onto our campus, we are hoping that students will become more aware of the situation and hopefully they’ll be inclined to donate.” The coat drive itself is one thing, but allowing students to see right in front of them what their donations are helping to fix is huge in encouraging students to do so. 

“The purpose of the tents is to bring attention to what people who are homeless, have to go through during the winter,” Calderon-Aceituno said.

Sarah Torres, the Associated Student Body president said the event is important in sparking conversation around campus. 

“Over the last few years, the homeless population in Spokane has stayed relatively the same,” Torres said. “I think that it’s important to stimulate conversations, especially in these kind of school environments because this is the think tank and this is where creative minds come up with creative solutions.” 

Torres believes the students of today can work on fixing the problems of yesterday. That’s why she and her team have worked so hard to make taking a new step in the right direction easier. They’ve been offering donations drop sites for warm winter coats, and making information and answers to questions readily available, all the while showcasing how even the smallest help goes to something much bigger. One coat is one more warm body. 

In regards to what Torres thinks is the most important thing about her job she said “conversation and awareness”.

The drive itself was successful. This was the first year this team of ASG students ran the drive, and they seemed to have pulled it off fairly well. 

“We definitely had to empty our bins and take bags into the office periodically over the last few days,” Torres said. There are a few places that take donations year round so, “Feel free to still donate!”

After a fruitful coat drive, the coats don’t just stay in bins and bags. 

“In previous years, the ASG team donated all the clothing to Catholic Charities… This year, the potential idea is to take the ASG team and maybe a couple of volunteers downtown to distribute the clothing out along with sack lunches” Calderon-Aceituno said. “So we’d be collaborating with (Blessings) Under the Bridge, Spokane Falls Community College, and potentially (Mayor-elect Nadine) Woodward,” Calderon-Aceituno said.

Prepping for an event like this isn’t easy. Not many can say they have started and conducted a communitywide awareness drive that has helped so many. 

“Prepping is everything from talking to facilities, making sure the sprinklers aren’t on… we get marketing out there, that students and community members are aware of something thats coming up, you know, just talking with people, educating ourselves, educating others on how big a problem this is … Prepping for this event is a plethora of different things that all need to be addressed individually,” Calderon-Aceituno said. 

Now that the drive is done, taking into consideration this is the first time the team has run the drive and how well it went, the ASG team pulled off a holiday sensation!