From now until Dec. 11 students will have an opportunity to donate coats to a coat drive in the front of the commons, courtesy of senior Madelyn Durham.

“We started it because I saw the ACO doing coat donations for at least for schools,” Durham said. “So I chose to donate to Family Gateway Center, which is for women and children that have been abused.”

The coat drive, approved by the administration in late November, can be found in a cardboard box labelled “coats.”

The drive is looking for other materials too, anything which could help women and children in need of basic necessities while in an FGC safe-house. The drive is placing emphasis on toothpaste and toothbrushes, things lacking at the center.

The Family Gateway Center is only a temporary safe-house, so families will stay there for a few weeks at a time when in danger. Coats are a necessity in winter, when cold weather strikes and refugees of abuse need warmth at night.

“We hope to get as many coats as possible” says Durham, ”everything we get can help a family in need. We’ve already received sixty coats, and any more we can get will help a lot.”