The Student Nursing Association (SNA) is hosting a winter coat drive to benefit the children of Abilene ISD from now until Nov. 25.
SNA is accepting donations of all types of winter clothing, from gently used to new; the donation box is located in the Zona Luce building on the South West corner of campus.
Robert Smith, sophomore nursing major from Rockwell, is one of the historians for SNA and has been involved in SNA since his freshmen year. Smith has been one of the major organizers of the coat drive and was inspired by giving back to the community as well as working together with everyone involved in SNA.
“We felt like this was a really great opportunity to get nursing majors and underclassmen nursing majors together because we really wanted to bond that, as far as it not being strictly nurses,” Smith said.
One of the reasons SNA said they felt a coat drive would be beneficial is due to the poverty rates in Abilene. As of 2017, approximately 17.7 percent or one out of every 5.6 citizens in Abilene are living in poverty, according to welfareinfo.org.
Lauren Maloy, junior nursing major from Dallas, also said by hosting a coat drive, SNA is doing its part to reach out to the community.
“I was really excited when I heard about it,” Maloy said. “I thought this is perfect, it’s charity, it’s helping out kids and it’s a great way to be the hands of feet of Jesus because that’s what nurses do. This is really caring.”
SNA was originally created on campus three years ago and has only recently become more involved on campus. Through this coat drive and a float in the Homecoming Parade, SNA is getting the word out to more nursing students in hopes that they would get involved in the association.
“I think our first appearance at the Homecoming Parade was really fun getting the word out because SNA isn’t only for nursing school students but for all nursing students,” Maloy said. “Everyone has their communities around campus so let’s make nursing a community too.”
Students from all across campus are encouraged to donate to the coat drive benefiting Abilene ISD. Nursing students with questions about SNA are encouraged to contact Lauren Maloy at lam14b@acu.edu.
