UMassFive is happy to share that their members, staff, and community partners have donated hundreds of winter coats and clothing items to Amherst Survival Center, the Gray House in Springfield, and Net of Compassion in Worcester.
Donations were gathered through a collection drive held at UMassFive’s Hadley, Northampton, Springfield, and Worcester branches throughout the month of December 2023.
"It feels great to impact more communities through our drive this year,” said Cait Murray, Community Outreach Manager at UMassFive, commenting on the addition of a Worcester County beneficiary. “Our partner organizations know exactly how to get these donations to people who need them most. The generosity of our members, staff, and community partners is truly remarkable.”
For the second year in a row, UMassFive employee volunteers sorted and organized donations at the Amherst Survival Center into a winter clothing pop-up boutique. Neighbors in need were welcome to visit the boutique to “shop” for free new and used winter clothing items, which resulted in helping provide 364 items to 182 shoppers. Donations from our Northampton and Springfield branches were brought to the Gray House in the North End of Springfield, which will help support some of its most vulnerable community members. Donations received in our Worcester branch were delivered to Net of Compassion, an organization that directly provides food, clothing, shelter, showers, and recovery support to individuals on the streets of Worcester.
Anyone interested in directly supporting the Amherst Survival Center, the Gray House, or Net of Compassion should visit amherstsurvival.org, grayhouse.org, and netofcompassion.org to learn how they can best help these communities.
