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Winter Warmth from U - "Fill the Bus" is a campus wide clothing drive that will take place on Wednesday, December 3 at the University of Minnesota. A University of Minnesota circulator bus will be parked in front of Coffman Memorial Union at the University of Minnesota from 11am until 3pm for individuals and groups to fill with good quality winter clothing for children and families in need. All students, faculty, staff, and surrounding community members are encouraged to donate. Although winter clothes are preferred, any clothing item of any season will be accepted. Fill the Bus is the closing event for the University's Month of Kindness, which began with a neighborhood cleanup at the beginning of November.

    The "Fill the Bus" event will feature:
  • -KDWB live broadcast and prizes
  • -Susan Hagstrum, President Bruinink's wife, speaking at 1pm
  • -Gift certificates from Applebee's for the first 50 people to donate 15+ items
  • -Free Chipotle for the first 300 people to donate 10+ items
  • -Prizes and gift certificates from local businesses
  • -Hot chocolate/coffee for every donor

Donations will be distributed through the Pillsbury Community Centers.

A little about the creators:
The clothing drive was created by John Barber and Surbhi Madia, two fourth-year U of M students who came up with the idea while shivering through one of their dates last winter in downtown Minneapolis. Both students are community advisors in residence halls, so they began to discuss possibilities of programming they could implement in the dorms and then found support and partners all over campus.

Contributors to Winter Warmth From U:
A key contributor to the success of Winter Warmth from U is Laurie McLaughlin, director of Housing and Residential Life. Additional contributors include Minneapolis Programs and Activities Council (MPAC), Housing and Residential Life, and First Student Inc. This event was also made possible through the donations from local businesses and organizations.

Questions? Want to help? Contact:
John Barber, (651)334-7306, barb0115@umn.edu
Surbhi Madia, (612)799-7872, madia001@umn.edu