By Rohit Shenoy ‘28
This year, Bellarmine hosted its annual Winter Warmth Drive, an event that collects and donates warm clothes, blankets, and bedding for the needy in Silicon Valley.
During this year’s drive, Bellarmine donated its items to two partner agencies: Sacred Heart Community Service and Home First Services.
The director of this year’s drive, Mr. Michael Bachmeier, S.J., writes, “beyond collections, there are a number of other events that support the Winter Warmth Drive.” Recently, the M.E.A.T. Club hosted a barbecue lunch, the proceeds of which are to be donated to one of Bellarmine’s partner agencies.
Like last year, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) once again hosted a chai/hot chocolate/treats sale during community time in the quad. They raised a total of $451, which will also go toward one of the Drive’s partner agencies.
But it’s not just clubs that participated in the Drive; Bellarmine events also generated a lot of donations. Mr. Bachmeier states, “Ms. Antonio hosted an event in the SLC for non-Bellarmine community members after Thanksgiving, and asked attendees to bring donations for the Winter Warmth Drive. Her guests were very generous.”
Proceeds from Bellarmine’s Sanguine Humours this Saturday, December 14, will be donated to the Winter Warmth Drive. The show was at 7:00 P.M. in the Sobrato Theater, and the minimum donation for attending was $5 (cash).
As of now, the funds generated from the Drive are approximately $1451. Mr. Michael Bachmeier states, “We do not count the number of donations because it is too time consuming.” He approximates that the Drive collected about the same as last year and more than what was collected 2 years ago.
As we cap off this year’s Winter Warmth Drive, it’s important to reflect and look toward what the drive can do better in the future. Mr. Bachmeier admits that “in the future, we need to be better about promoting the drive before it starts.”
He also thinks that Bellarmine should continue to grow in student ownership of the Drive. He writes that “CSP does a lot of the planning, logistics, and implementation. It would be great if eventually students took over these tasks.”
Hopefully, as we enter the next year, we can do a better job of helping even more people in the Drive. If you are interested in participating in the Drive, you can reach out to Mr. Bachmeier or Mr. Desumala.