For the third year in a row, Highmark and National Grid are working with New York Assemblymember Jon Rivera and Lafayette International High School to provide winter clothing for students who recently moved to the U.S. and might not be used to harsh Buffalo winters.
One point of emphasis is making sure the coats, gloves and hats brought in are all new items, Rivera said.
“We do a lot of coat drives in Western New York, but what often happens with coat drives is, if they're used coats, there's no real assurance of what sizes they are and what kind of conditions that they're in," he said. "But these are brand new coats. Brand new coats, really manufactured, probably within the last few weeks, and delivered here. And we have, we know what sizes they are, and we can hand them out in an organized way to families that really need them.”
Half of the coats will be distributed to Lafayette and the other half to residents at Jericho Road’s VIVE temporary shelter for asylum seekers.
It’s important to grow the event as new international students move to the area each year, Rivera added.
“In Buffalo there's, there's a few absolutes. One of them is that it's going to get cold. So, you know, leading with this sort of event is going to be needed every year, forever," he said. "But I think as years go on, you know, we're going to increase it. You know, this year was a couple hundred. We're hopeful that next year we can do more. There's always going to be that need.”
Resources like the clothing drive, and a food collection planned for Saturday at West Hertel Academy, take on added significance as many families lose access to federal programs like SNAP, Rivera said.
