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The Syracuse University Student Association extended its Fall Into Action winter clothing drive to Dec. 2 in hopes of collecting more items to donate to the local Syracuse community.

SA chose to extend the donation period for the drive, which is in partnership with the Center for Community Alternatives, from its end date before Thanksgiving break until Dec. 2 so that students would have more time to contribute items, said Will Treloar, SA’s speaker of the assembly. The drive is part of SA’s volunteer action initiatives, which SA President David Bruen said aim to engage students with the surrounding area.

SA worked with the Resident Housing Association, which helped to set up donation bins in all SU dorms in addition to two collection spots in the Schine Student Center.

Bruen said SA always partners with RHA for the initiatives, and SA has partnered with local nonprofits like the YMCA and Interfaith Works on other clothing and food drives.

The drive is especially necessary with the approaching winter season in Syracuse, Bruen said.

“Being able to give someone that jacket that’s going to provide that extra warmth that they need to stay safe during the winter is really important,” Bruen said.

The CCA’s previous work in Syracuse encouraged SA to want to work with the organization, Treloar said. The New York-based nonprofit focuses on providing community resources like education and housing services as alternatives to incarceration, according to the group’s website.

Treloar noted many students bring excess clothing to campus or grow out of clothing that can be donated to others who need it, and said the clothing drive presents a way for students to contribute to the surrounding Syracuse community despite busy schedules.

“Every year students are going to have excess clothing, and as we continue to live in Syracuse, which is one of the poorest cities in America, it gives us students living on the hill a chance to give back,” Treloar said.

The drive is accepting any winter clothing, especially jackets, as donations to go directly to the CCA for distribution, Bruen said.

Bruen also said that in the future, SA may work on collecting winter clothing and professional clothing specifically for SU students in need. SA plans to hold another clothing drive as part of the Spring Into Action initiative in the spring semester, Treloar said.

Students have voiced their thoughts and concerns to SA on the need for clothing donations via student reporting forms, at meetings and within SA itself, Bruen said.

“That’s one of the really great values out of these initiatives too, we’re doing something very basic — like putting things out, collecting things — but it creates a conversation (that) makes people realize, ‘oh, you know, there are people around me that need this support,’” Bruen said.

Students can donate winter clothing items in residence hall collection bins, the reception desk at Schine and the Student Engagement Office until Dec. 2.

Published on November 27, 2022 at 9:51 pm

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu