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Lewisville Middle Collects 1,367 Coats for Salvation Army
February 7, 2023 – Children in need throughout Forsyth County will be a lot warmer for the rest of the winter thanks to the generous efforts of science students at Lewisville Middle School.
The school’s science club sponsored a coat drive open to students, staff, and families in early January to coincide with the Salvation Army’s “Give a Kid a Coat” campaign. With about a month to collect, teachers set an initial goal to gather 500 jackets and hoodies to help children in need stay warm. That goal turned out to be a bit of an underestimate – by the time the Salvation Army came to pick up donations last week, Lewisville had produced an astonishing total of 1,367 coats.
“It was our first year doing this here, so we didn’t know exactly what to expect,” said Laura LeMay, one of the teacher organizers behind the drive. “Our goal started out at 500, but we just kept raising it and they just kept meeting it.”
Friendly competition was a driving factor behind the exceptional totals. It seemed like once a student had brought in their first donation, they were determined to help their class earn bragging rights by pacing donations for the rest of the school. It also helped that the coat drive had a low barrier to entry. Staff wanted to make sure that everyone in school had an opportunity to be part of the solution, and an effort to upcycle outgrown outerwear was the perfect method.
“Not everyone has money that they can spare for a fundraiser, but everyone has a used coat or a hoodie at home that they can’t wear anymore,” Teacher Emily Hooke said. “Everyone was able to participate.”
Of course, the most important reason that the coat drive succeeded is also the simplest one – Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is fortunate enough to have a student body that truly cares about their community. The Piedmont has seen its share of extreme cold and wind this season, making life much more difficult for people dealing with financial woes and housing insecurity. Students can see people, both strangers and loved ones, struggling with the cold and they want to do whatever they can to help. Beau Hooker, a student who says he’s experienced homelessness in the past, brought in 20 coats for the drive because he knows what it’s like to be cold, and he doesn’t wish it on anyone.
“There are a lot of people who are cold and freezing out there,” Hooker said. “I don’t want anyone to have to go through that.”