The Lions for Justice Club at St. James Catholic High School collected items for Wyndham House in a schoolwide clothing drive.
The club kicked off the clothing drive last Friday, running for a full week.
“We were hoping to collect new and/or gently used coats, jackets, mitts, hats, scarves, hoodies, boots, clothing that would appeal to a teen,” share Laurie Young, staff resource for the Lions for Justice Club.
“As winter approaches us, we all start to unpack those layers to keep us warm,” added Savannah Newell, chair of the Lions for Justice Club at St. James. “The school community contributed a ton of clothing items this past week! We collected more items than I had anticipated while planning this event with the club.”
This is the first clothing drive they have operated in support of Wyndham House, the idea coming from both a suggestion from teacher advisor, Sarah Gammie, and a club member who recommended they be recipients.
“The Lions for Justice club at St. James is centered around helping not only our school community, but the community of Guelph as well. Our Catholic faith encourages this word "community', which to me means working together as individuals to create an environment of lifting one another up,” shared Newell. “During a meeting, a student suggested that we participate in a clothing drive for the Wyndham House, because they were taking clothing donations, and they house individuals around the same age as students at our school. Since donations were unable to be accepted for quite some time, this drive was that much more special because we can show our support through a physical object, such as a jacket, instead of just money.”
Each day at the midday break, members of the Lions for Justice Club collected the donations from homerooms. They will now spend some time this week sorting and making arrangements for delivery to Wyndham.
“I would love to add a huge thank you to the students and staff at St. James who have shown their support for the Guelph community so far this year by contributing clothing for this Clothing Drive, and food items for our Salvation Army Food Drive. An even bigger thank you to the Lions for Justice Club members and Teacher Advisors for contributing their time and wonderful ideas to our successful events so far... it's only November and we have already accomplished so much,” said Newell. “It is so heartwarming to see how eager St. James Lions are to donate and give what they can to those who need it most.”
“We are blessed with concerned and active teens who want to create a just community and world,” added Young.
For more Lions for Justice Club initiatives at St. James Catholic High School, please follow along on their Twitter account.