On Tuesday, Knight's Closet gave students wanting to pack lighter the opportunity to lessen their loads by donating gently used clothes and other items before going home for winter break.
Clothing filled Academic Village as Knight's Closet held its first ever donation event.
Students were encouraged to donate gently used clothing or unopened food items that would otherwise go to waste during the vacation. From noon to 2 p.m. student volunteers collected anything from shirts, shoes and purses to towels and food items.
Knight's Closet planned to execute a similar event last spring but they were unable to do so. Unprepared for the amount of work needed to be put into the preparation for this event, Knight's Closet was forced to delay its donation event to fall.
"We really wanted to put a lot of time into this event to make it a success, so we pushed it back a semester," said head coordinator Laura Bailly.
This time, they used Facebook and other marketing strategies to help draw attention to their event.
"We are hoping to make this a semi-annual event," Bailly said.
The event was put on in hopes of getting students involved with helping others and to give to those going through some tough times this year.
The donated items are to be distributed through organizations such as Knights Helping Knights; The Mustard Seed Furniture and Clothing Bank, an organization which helps families in need; and Coalition for the Homeless. Other organizations like Volunteer UCF were asked to come out and help as well. Knightcast also got involved by setting up a tent and a DJ to attract students and create a fun, lively environment.
The donation site was set up in the Academic Village between Nike and Hercules. Knight's Closet picked this location for its convenience to many students living on campus. There was free pizza from Domino's and other refreshments being given out as a thank you for all those who donated at least three articles of clothing.
Junior Jennifer Innocent brought with her some shoes to give, which she said had just been laying around.
"They were actually my friend's and she was going to box them up. So I took them and figured someone else could use them," Innocent said.
With two tables set up to organize the donations, the volunteers quickly got to work dividing the clothing into ordered piles as students began to bring in their items. With both tables stacked high with clothing, the event turned out to be a success. Any little donation would have been considered an accomplishment, because in the eyes of Knight's Closet, even the smallest amount can make someone else's life a little bit better.
"I like to feel like I'm helping someone and by volunteering for an event like this, I really do feel like I'm giving back," volunteer Michael Rippy said.
Most students brought out clothes and shoes; few brought any food items. With flyers and Facebook posts advertising more of the collection of clothing items, students were not as aware of the fact that Knight's Closet was also collecting food.
"I just hope students take a lot of initiative in helping others especially during this time of year and just in general," Bailly said.
With the holiday season coming up, many students experienced the joy of giving through Knight's Closet.
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