By Ronak Chadha ‘25
Bellarmine hosted its annual Winter Warmth Drive from Monday, November 8th to Friday, November 19th, and the theme for this year’s event was to “Bring Warmth to the Future.” The Winter Warmth Drive supports both Sacred Heart Community Service and HomeFirst. Sacred Heart Community provides services for thousands of underprivileged families every month while HomeFirst provides overnight housing for the homeless throughout the winter, as well as an emergency shelter. Students and staff from Bellarmine, Presentation, and Notre Dame hosted many events during this drive to raise awareness about the issues facing low-income communities and to collect warm items. The extended Bell Community responded by generously donating new and gently used items such as sleeping bags, blankets, coats, new socks, etc.
Some of the special events hosted during the drive to raise awareness included a “Poverty Simulation” at the Liccardo Center on November 11th. Over eighty students from Bellarmine, Notre Dame, and Presentation participated in an experiential activity that was designed to help the volunteers learn about the challenges and daily realities encountered by low-income workers in Santa Clara County. On the same day, another group of participants attended a “Solidarity Sleepout” where they heard stories from guests about the experience of the homeless and then proceeded to sleep on the Liccardo balcony. Additionally, all the three schools participating in the drive also collected blankets in lieu of tickets during the three school socials. The Winter Warmth Drive was a big success and Bellarmine collected truckloads of warm items. Thank you to all of the Bellarmine families and students for their generosity in helping those in need and embodying the Bellarmine motto of being “men and women for and with others.”