Each December, most Whitman students are lucky enough to have pillows to rest their heads on, coats to keep them warm, and presents from family or friends. For those less fortunate, some local groups have found a way to spread the holiday cheer.
A Wider Circle Pillow Drive
Everyone is encouraged to bring new pillows to counselor Kari Wislar’s office. The pillows will be donated and brought to a Wider Circle, a D.C.-based charity that aims to help families fight poverty.
“One of the hardest things to have people donate are pillows, because they have to be new and in their plastic,” Wislar said. “That’s why we decided to take on pillows.”
Each person who donates will receive a candy cane and a hot cocoa packet as a thank you.
“Believe it or not, there are lots of people out there who don’t have a pillow to rest their head on when they go to sleep,” Wislar said.
While this is the first year Whitman has held a pillow drive, she said she hopes to make the drive an annual event. Wislar will be collecting pillows through Dec. 19.
Whitmaniacs Winter Coat Drive
To help keep homeless veterans warm this winter, the Whitmaniacs are sponsoring a winter coat drive. All donations will go to the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 461 to be distributed.
The group is accepting coats from size X-large to 4X-large and is hoping for high participation.
“We thought it would be a great idea to get Whitmaniacs involved in this because it would really help spread the word of the drive throughout not only the general Whitman community but even further,” Whitmaniac Tess Speiser said.
Manos Unidas: Change for Change
Students carrying around Christmas stockings this week won’t be asking for stocking stuffers. Instead, they’ll be collecting spare change to purchase gifts for kids who wouldn’t otherwise receive them.
Manos Unidas club will be collecting donations to buy gifts for toddlers who wouldn’t otherwise get Christmas gifts through the local bilingual organization Centronia, with which the club works regularly throughout the year.
“Every kid deserves a Christmas present,” said junior Andrew Wright, who helps coordinate the club’s work with Centronia.
