Monday kicks off the Metropolitan Volunteer Program’s five-day Holiday Drive for charities across the Houston area.
“Most of us are very fortunate to have so many resources at our disposal,” said MVP assistant director Sara Lalani. “It’s especially important during the holiday season, as we give thanks for all that we have, to also think about those who are struggling with hunger, or don’t have warm clothing and a roof over their heads.”
With an estimated 5,000 homeless people in Houston on any given night, MVP is trying to make it easy for students to give back to the community. Students can drop off cold weather clothing such as coats, jackets, gloves and blankets as well as books, non-perishable food items, new toys, toiletries and school supplies to help charities such as the Houston Food Bank, the Salvation Army and Child Protective Services. The donations will be accepted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the MVP collection table in front of the UC,and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the MVP Office in the UC North Rm. 119.
“We mainly chose to donate to organizations that MVP has a strong partnership with because we wanted to make sure that the donated items would be put to good use with organizations that had an urgent need for them,” Lalani said. “For example, Child Protective Services has a program called BEARing Gifts which provides holiday gifts to abused and neglected children under the care of CPS.”
The drive will also donate to groups with a higher need of winter supplies.
“There is also a great need this year for MVP to do a Holiday Drive because of the flood of Central American immigrant children that were caught at the border,” Lalani said.
“Thousands of those children currently attend schools in Harris County and many schools are having trouble accommodating the increased surge of students. Providing the schools with supplies such as clothes for the students and school supplies can help with the transition.”
MVP is offering incentives for students to donate these items.
“We’ve also made the Holiday Drive more fun by having a raffle for prizes in order to give students an incentive to raid their pantries and rummage through their closets for donations,” Lalani said.
For students that want to continue volunteering during the holiday season, MVP is hosting Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week and several service activities throughout November. For more information on ways to get involved, click here.
Its great to hear about events before they happen! This is fantastic! Goooo Coogs!