Pictures

Our count is up to 2,376 items!

This is the McKenna House in Concord, a homeless shelter that we have donated clothing to.



Jean from The Way Home visited us to pick up and deliver clothing. Thank you!



Our bin from Morgan Storage:



Gary Sears (Security) and Bill Graening (Facilities Department):



Our class working on the clothing drive:

ADM 675 class

The ADM 675 class at UNH Manchester has done outstanding work for Warmth From The Millyard. We want to highlight their work and thank them for their contributions. Thank you!

Flyer they made:

Flyer link

PSA they wrote:

"PSA Information:
AIDA
Attention: Cold vs Warmth.
Interest: People in need. People with unwanted clothing.
Desire: Be part of a community effort. Give without spending.
Action: What, Why, Where, When, how.

Please join Warmth from the Millyard sponsored by UNH Manchester and keep people warm this winter. During the month of November we will be collecting your clean, unwanted coats, boots and other clothing at UNHM on Commercial Street. Your donations will be matched with recipients in need from your community non-profit agencies. For a listing of drop off dates and times, please visit Warmth from the Millyard on Facebook and WFTMY on twitter or contact Kate Hanson @ Kate.Hanson@unh.edu for more information!"

Ad campaign they wrote:

"Guerilla Advertising Campaign:
When: Week before donation acceptances begin – last day of donation acceptance.
Where: UNHM parking lots/area businesses/corners: Commercial/Canal, Commercial/Granite, Spring/Elm
What: Sandwich boards – flyer handouts
Our drive runs November 9th through December 4th! Stop by the UNH Manchester campus with your donations. Boxes will be available.

We need clean clothes, new or lightly used, size infant through adult: coats, boots, jeans, long shirts, kid's pajamas, pants, socks, underwear, and hats."

Count

We have collected 2,297 clothing items so far! Our goal is 3,000 this year and I am more than confident that we will surpass this number. There are several bags uncounted in the bin and we will be collecting clothing until December 4th. Please keep donating and tell your friends and family members about the drive. With your help, every person from all of our organizations will be warm this winter.

We need more coats, boots, pajamas, and longjohns, but we need warm clothing of all kinds- hats, jeans, sweaters, everything.

Help is always needed for sorting and counting. Please contact me if you would like to volunteer.

Thanks for supporting WFMY!

The Bhutanese Refugees and Sister Irene Marie

Sister Irene Marie, member of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, in Manchester, volunteers for Catholic Charities while working with recently arrived immigrants. She has been doing this for many, many years. Although she broke her knee recently, her enthusiasm and passion is barely contained as she directs operations from her wheelchair.

She is currently working with about Bhutanese 48 families, but this number changes often, as more and more families are sent to Manchester at intervals. The US government in 2007, has accepted 60,000 Bhutanese to be settled in this country. The families have spent up to 17 years in refugee camps as they fled ethnic cleansing in Bhutan, many of them under threat of death or torture. These are extended families which include parents, children, and grand-parents.

These people arrive in the USA in the clothes they were wearing in the camps. The climate where the camps are located is like New Hampshire in early fall… it never is like our winter!

Initially they are given low income housing, and other help, but not clothing. They are given four months to find work before aid begins to dry up. In this economic climate, they are facing nearly impossible odds to get ahead…. Or even stay afloat.

These are a small and slim people. Your size smalls and mediums will find a welcome home with them. Please be sure to wash and thoroughly dry them before donating them.

- Paula

Updates

We have collected 995 items of clothing so far!! Thank you all so much! Our goal is to collect 3,000 items. Keep an eye on the thermometer down in the lobby that will track our progress.

Our drive has been extended to December 4th. Please keep bringing in clothes and tell your friends and family members about our drive.

One of the greatest needs out there is for coats and boots. Winter is here and snow is on its way. People really need to have protection against the cold. Some of our recipients are out right now walking around in sandals. Let's work together to help them feel more comfortable this winter.

The next drop off is tomorrow from 12-2. Hope to see you there!

Press Release

For Immediate Release
November 9, 2009
UNH Manchester
Kim Wall, Kim.Wall@unh.edu

Warm Clothes Needed

Manchester, NH –As the temperature falls we are reminded of the many adults and children in New Hampshire who cannot afford warm coats and clothes for the winter season. This is especially true this year with the unemployment rate near record levels and so many people struggling financially. This winter your coat and clothing donations will matter more than ever.

The Warmth from the Millyard warm clothing drive, now in its third year, will begin November 9, and will continue through November 20, 2009. Coordinated by students in UNH Manchester’s Community Leadership Program, the goal is to collect new or lightly used coats, sweaters, jeans, hats, mittens, boots, and socks for children and adults. There is also a need for warm children’s pajamas. Morgan Storage generously donated the use of a portable storage bin to temporarily store the clothing before delivery. Donations will be delivered to New Horizons, Southern New Hampshire Services, and Child and Family Services in Manchester. The community is invited to drop off their donations at the UNH Manchester campus, 400 Commercial Street, in the donation bins on the first floor.

Warmth from the Millyard has inspired students to get involved and give back to their community. One student wrote in on the project’s blog about her experience, “This project has reinforced my self-motivation and compassion for others and made me realize that I can make a difference even if I never meet the individual I am serving.” Students in the Community Leadership Program are participating in marketing, outreach and volunteer recruitment. The Communication Arts Program is creating a documentary film about the project. Students in a zoology class have collected clothing and are conducting research on the effects that cold weather has on the human body. The First Year Experience Program and the Student Activities Office have also been involved in the collection.

The Community Leadership Program at UNH Manchester is designed for students who wish to transform a passion for community activism into a rewarding career. Community Leadership is one of only a handful of programs nationwide to combine hands-on community outreach with an academic study of leadership, communities, citizen influence, and non-profit organization management. Because of this unique curriculum, the program is included as part of the New England Regional Student Program in all of the New England states. Learn more about this unique and rewarding program at www.unhm.unh.edu

If you would like additional information, or to be a part of the Warmth from the Millyard project, contact Professor Kate Hanson at Kate.Hanson.edu or by visiting the Warmth from the Millyard blog at: www.warmthfromthemillyard2009.blogspot.com

UNH Manchester, UNH's urban campus, offers liberal arts and applied majors in business, science, and technology, all with an urban focus. UNH Manchester is UNH. Learn more at www.unhm.unh.edu

2007-2009 Donors and recipients

This is a list of the donors and recipients that have been involved with the Warmth From The Millyard.

Donors

• NH D.O.T
• Bedford Toll
• Hooksett Toll
• Hampton Toll
• Hampton Side Road
• Dover Toll
• Rochester Toll
• Merrimack Tolls (Exit 10, 11, 12)
• TMC Building
• Bureau of Traffic
• Merrimack Maintenance
• Nashua Maintenance
• DOT Administration Building
• AutoDesk
• Manchester Historic Association
• SEE Science Center
• Boys & Girls Club of Greater Derry
• 211 NH
• FIRST
• B&G Salem
• Santos Office Building
• New Hampshire Business Review
• Morgan Storage
• Hillside School
• The Launching Pad
• Dunstable Library / Senior Center
• Bedford Deli
• Hollis Yoga

Recipients

• Nashua Food Kitchen & Shelter
• Boys and Girls Club of Greater Nashua
• New Horizons
• City Year
• The Salvation Army-Manchester
• Child and Family Services
• PSCC and SOP Programs at the Greater Manchester Family YMCA
• STAY Program, Greater Manchester Family YMCA
• SNHS Head Start
• Selma Deitch Early Learning Program
• DCYF
• B&G Manchester
• McKenna House
• YMCA Manchester
• Wilson Elementary
• Stay Program
• State Program at Parkside Middle School
• ELL Program Hillside
• YWCA

UNH Manchester partners

Here are our partners at UNH Manchester that are helping us out with the drive. We can't thank you enough for your support.

ACADEMIC CLASSES AND DEPARTMENTS:

ADM 635 Students in Free Enterprise: students in Kelly Kilcrease's class will be providing expertise in marketing and organizing the project here on campus.

ADM 675 Integrated Marketing Communication: a team of students from Bill Troy's class are advising us on how to create a marketing plan, how to create consistent messages, and how to organize a radio campaign.

ADM 675 Sustainable Business: students in Walt Alderman's class will be donating 10% of their profits to the WFMY project as well as promoting the project on their sales tables.

BIO 413 Principles of Biology I: students in Patricia Halpin's class will once again research the effects of cold on the human body so that we can use this research to raise awareness of the need for warm clothes.

Communication Arts: The Communication Arts faculty have generously recommended the CSL 201 class to some of their students--who are just terrific!

CSL 204 Managing Change and Conflict in Communities: Ginger Lever is working with her students to research the issue of poverty in our area and to consider the policy implications of this research. The students will also be recruiting other business partners to supply clothes to other recipient organizations.

CSL 207 Fundraising for Community-Based Organizations: a student in Susan Cole's class has chosen the WFMY project as the focus of her fundraising plan and will share this outline with us.

Education: Judy Sharkey has invited us to co-sponsor the upcoming film The Other Side of Immigration on Oct. 29 at 5pm. Students working on the Warmth from the Millyard Project will be hosting a table outside the film to share information and invite participation.

Ecn 444 Power: Tom Birch's students will be creating a video of the Warmth from the Millyard project that can be used to highlight the issues the project addresses as well as detail the project itself.

UMST 599 First Year Seminar: Colleen Sasso will be working with her students to identify an aspect of the WFMY project for their community service focus. They'll be working closely with students from CSL 201 and other classes to address an aspect of the project.


STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS:

Art Club: will be helping with the design of the "drop off" boxes and other visual aspects of the project

Jamie Saucier has been working with the CSL 201 students to help them make connections with other student organizations.


DEPARTMENTS/STAFF: These are people who have offered to help share their expertise and support the project either as individuals or through their departments. (I apologize if I've forgotten anyone--let me know--and please know there is room for many more!)

Colleen Bolton: Academic Counseling
Karlea Brunelle-Joiner: First Year Experience
Jamy Cote: Academic Computing
Vicky Doherty: Barnes and Noble Bookstore
Annie Donahue: Library
Lloyd Feder: Facilities Department
Kate Ferreira: Center for Graduate and Professional Studies
Regina McCarthy: Academic Student Services
Donna McIntire: Associate Dean's Office
Trece Mettauer: Community Outreach Scholarship
Laura Piazza: Marketing and Community Relations
Ellen Ruggles: Associate Dean's Office
Mihaela Sabin: Computer Information Systems
Gary Sears: Security Services
Mica Stark: Carsey Institute
Carol Sweich: Academic Counseling
Brian Tobin: Marketing and Community Relations
Kim Wall: Marketing and Community Relations

First sorting day

So far, we have collected 475 items of clothing and the drive only started yesterday!

We had our first sorting day this past Friday in the student lounge. Check it out.


Created with flickr slideshow.

Working It Out

How has the economy affected you? The people around you? What have you seen happen to the people and places in your surroundings?

Please take a minute and post your story on Working It Out. http://www.nhpr.org/wio

Raffle tickets

Support The Warmth From The Millyard buy buying a raffle ticket! Tickets will be sold $1 a piece or $6 for five tickets. They are available until November 20th.

The prizes are:

4 box seat tickets to the Fisher Cats
$25 gift card to T-Bones or Cactus Jack's
1 free night with breakfast at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester
A polar fleece UNH vest
A pair of tickets to see UNH vs. Dartmouth at the Verizon Wireless Arena
$25 off beauty services at Suzanne's Hairwaves