Turkey, stuffing, blue jeans.
Spyglass Apartments is asking its residents to add another item to the list of take-home holiday leftovers.
“My idea is that students will go home for Thanksgiving and bring tons of stuff back,” said Lauren Hughes, leasing agent at Spyglass Apartments and director of the complex’s clothing drive for Peaceful Paths, a shelter in Gainesville for abused women and their children.
Hughes encourages UF and Santa Fe College students to clean out their closets for Thanksgiving and bring the clothes to the apartment’s leasing office.
Items in need include clothing, shoes, books and stuffed animals. Peaceful Paths asks especially for women’s professional attire for those who are starting new lives and searching for jobs.
Peaceful Paths will sell the donated items from Spyglass tenants in its thrift store, which is open to the general public. All proceeds go to the Peaceful Paths Domestic Abuse Network Inc., including its shelters, support groups and hotlines.
“Many women and their children who come here have no clothes, except for the ones they are wearing,” said Lori Eddy, receptionist and coordinator of the “Adopt a Family” program at Peaceful Paths. “We give them vouchers to go shopping at the thrift store. The amount the voucher is worth depends on the needs presented.”
Eddy said the donation drive at Spyglass comes at a perfect time of year. The busy holiday season spurs higher traffic at the shelter, increasing financial need. “I hope this becomes a competition between apartment complexes in Gainesville,” Hughes said. “It’s for such a good cause.”
Hughes said she has no expectations for donations but hopes everyone will get involved.
In 2007, college students in the U.S. spent an estimated $5 billion on clothes and shoes, according to stateuniversity.com.
“People living comfortably often fail to realize that there are many less fortunate individuals out there,” said Kristen Wietzke, a resident at Spyglass. “I am going to set aside one weekend to dig through my closet for things I don’t wear or use anymore, or that I think someone less fortunate would make better use of.”
Peaceful Paths especially needs gift cards for groceries, gasoline and phone cards.
“I think this is a very good way to start off the holiday season,” said Wietzke. “Why not help someone in need and help to brighten their day?”
