AUDIO TRANSCRIPT: Operation Orange Warmup keeps students warm for a third year
Maddie Ritter: With winter in full swing, some Central New Yorkers are left without warm clothing. NCC’s Maddie Ritter says help is on the way. It’s great to come to college from an area with warm weather…but not so great when you don’t have a winter coat.
Ruth Chen: Because we have a large number of students that came from very warm weather countries. They’ve never seen snow. They did not anticipate the need.
Ritter: Professor of Practice Ruth Chen started Operation Orange Warm-Up two and a half years ago. The goal? Protecting the Syracuse community from the winter weather.
Chen: And also there are students that don’t go home for the holidays, and they need to go to lab, or work. And of course they need warm clothing as well.
Ritter: Community members can drop off hats, gloves, and jackets into the Orange Warm-Up bins at the Schine Student Center, Hendricks Chapel and the Lally Athletic Complex. There are collection sites in campus dorms as well. Maddie Ritter… NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Winter is a trying time for those in the Syracuse community, especially for those who lack the proper clothing to keep them warm. Operation Orange Warmup is a campaign that has been set up by Professor of Practice in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Ruth Chen. The campaign aims to collect cold-weather items like hats, gloves, boots and coats. This year is its third.
“We worked with Community Engagement and we started having bins put out for people to put warm clothes, like coats. And then it started to become a repeating thing,” says Chen.
What many local students don’t realize is that some of their peers don’t get to go home for breaks. Chen details how a campaign like this is beneficial to students staying on campus over Thanksgiving and winter break.
“And also there are students that don’t go home for the holidays, and they need to go to lab, or work. And of course they need warm clothing as well,” Chen said.
The campaign works in collaboration with the Lally Athletic Complex, where clothing items are sent to be cleaned and then distributed to those in need. The distributions take place in The Underground at the Schine Student Center.
The items most needed? Coats and hats.
“Coats, and of course hats! We are having some people who are really needing them,” Chen said.
Students can make donations of new or gently used clothing to the gray collection bins on campus. They are located in various residence halls, and are also found at Hendricks Chapel, the Lally Athletic Complex and Schine Student Center. The drive runs from now until Dec. 5.
With the campaign, Chen has collected hundreds of coats since 2022. She hopes to see even more growth this year.