Commerce students and faculty share the warmth

Texas A&M University-Commerce students and faculty are encouraged to dig in their closets for any spare coats and blankets to help bundle up residents of Commerce. A coat-and-blanket drive called Share the Warmth will conclude Friday, Dec. 7.Share the Warmth is a campaign headed up by the College of Business and Technology Advising Center, the Children’s Learning Center and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.”The College of Business Advising Center and the Children’s Learning Center are set up as outlets to deliver serviceable, clean coats and blankets. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be dispersing those to the entities around Commerce – the First Baptist Church and the [Commerce] Independent School District,” Jason Price, the coordinator of Graduate Programs in Business and Technology, said.Any excess coats and blankets will be donated to the Presbyterian Hospital’s Bargain Box located in downtown Commerce, which proceeds benefit the immediate needs of the hospital.Price is heading up Share the Warmth Campaign, which so far has collected 60 coats.”Several weeks ago I realized that Christmas was coming close and winter was upon us. I had been involved in canned food drives where I previously worked in the athletic department and also been a part of Angel Tree and Toys for Tots and wanted to create an initiative to service another end,” Price said. Price then contacted Lisa Rhoades, director of the Children’s Learning Center, and Summer Spurlock, the assistant director for compliance and director of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, to partner for the drive.Rhoades suggested the idea of a coat drive when Price contacted her to help with a type of community service. She then contacted the two elementary schools in Commerce to see if they were interested in receiving coats.”All schools have an area where children can borrow a coat. In this respect, we are able to give them a coat and help more children,” Rhoades said.The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has not committed to just the coat drive, but also other philanthropic services.”The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is doing a canned food drive this week with the games Thursday. The student athlete on the national level partners with Make-A-Wish Foundation and we’re having a Make-A-Wish night/canned food drive Thursday,” Spurlock said. “We’re giving discounted tickets if you bring a canned good. We are also doing an after-the game party and you get discounted tickets if you bring canned goods to that too. At the game we will involve the community and at the party we will involve the students.”Even though the drive officially ends Friday, coats will still be accepted for donation to First Baptist Church and Commerce Independent School District. “Dec. 7 is the cut-off for our initiative, but even after that time, if individuals wanted to drop something here, I know I or the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee would be more than willing to forward those to the services around town. We use that day as the cutoff because students are starting to leave and people are getting ready for vacation, so we wanted to get what we could before it got too cold,” Price said.