BY JOSH KENNEDY
Many people are bundling up to protect themselves from the cold weather. But some people are not so lucky. They cannot afford to buy warm clothes. That is why clothing drives are held.
Conestoga Students Inc. got in on the action by holding their Winter Clothing Drive from Nov. 24 to 28. People brought in warm clothing and placed them in one of the donation bins that were in the hallway just outside the CSI office. All of the donations went to the Salvation Army.
The clothing drive was the idea of the CSI Leadership Ambassador Team, which consists of 20 students who hold a different charity event each month.
“This (clothing drive) was our last charity event this semester and while brainstorming we learned that the Salvation Army was in need of clothing,” said Lisa Steele, leadership development co-ordinator for CSI. “We held the clothing drive in hopes that we would get enough clothes donated by the end of the week.”
The Salvation Army was pleased when they heard about the drive. They even made the banner for the students to attach to the donation table. In addition to the Salvation Army, Sun Life Financial, Jiffy Lube and radio stations 96.7 CHYM FM, 670News and Kix 106.7 were sponsors.
The drive turned out to be a success with people filling the donation bins to the very top with coats, wool hats, scarfs, mittens and snow pants.
“I personally think it’s really great that we got so many donations,” said Oliveah Friesen, a leadership ambassador with CSI, who helped monitor the display for the clothing drive. “Having warm clothes is one of the things we take for granted and it is important to remember that some people don’t have as many clothes as we do.”
These clothing drives are not just good for people who need warm clothes, but they are also a convenient way for people who have too many clothes to get rid of them. Statistics Canada states that Canadians spend four per cent of every dollar they earn on clothes, which they either eventually outgrow as time goes on or they simply stop wearing. Instead of just throwing these clothes in the garbage, Canadians can donate them to someone who can still use them.
Clothing drives don’t only happen during the holiday season. Some are year-long. One example is Clothesline, a charity drive sponsored by the Canadian Diabetes Association, which places clothing drop boxes in many parking lots across Canada.
If you want to donate something, go to www.diabetes.ca and then to the “Find a Clothesline Dropbox” under the “In Your Community” button.
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