Second Annual Event Eclipses Over 1,600 Items For Those in Need

When CSU Marketing Communications Representative Lisa Evans set her goal for the 2023 Vikings Give clothing drive, it was to surpass last year’s total of 1,000.

Little did she realize it would quickly become a smashing success.

Faculty, staff and students embraced the drive with open arms. In the end, a total of 1,600 clothing items were accumulated during the one-month drive, ranging from winter weather items including adult coats, jackets, and sweaters to leggings, children’s gloves, pants and boots.

The items were donated to the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH), less than 5 miles down the street from campus on Perkins Avenue. The organization exists to eliminate the root causes of homelessness while loving our diverse community through organizing, advocacy, education and street outreach.

“I am very proud of the CSU community for the success of this year’s drive, as not only did we increase the number of items donated, but we increased the reach of the clothing drive with the help of our men’s and women’s basketball team that collected donations during three games,” said Evans. “We also received emails and calls from outside organizations that heard about the drive and wanted to participate, which allowed us to collect more items to give to NEOCH to clothe the unhoused community.”

Evans quickly showed her gratitude to those who made the drive possible.

“I would like to thank all 11 box hosts, FAST, duplicating, CSU athletics, University Marketing and every CSU community member that donated items for this drive, as well as the response in donations we received this year,” she said. “There were many instances where donation boxes were overflowing with items on the floor and had to be emptied into bags to make space for more donations, which can be attributed to the heart of our community and our desire to give back; I am also thankful to NEOCH for partnering with us for the second year in a row.”

As Evans looks at ways to make the drive even bigger and better for 2024, she already has a plan to accomplish her goal of continuing to provide clothing to those in need and surpassing the 1,600 mark set in 2023.

“There are three things I am looking forward to as we continue the Vikings Give clothing drive,” she said. That includes continuing to increase the number of box hosts on campus and see donation boxes in the residence halls, visible spaces on campus and offices; collaborating with student organizations and getting them involved in the process of collecting donations and maybe even giving them leadership opportunities in organizing the drive; and lastly, have NEOCH make a campus visit to meet our box hosts and leadership team and perhaps even collaborate on a giving day event in the future.”

NEOCH Office and Incoming Donations Manager Toni Mickey was excited about the donations from the CSU community. She was looking forward to dispersing the items to those in need during the upcoming winter months.

“Thank you to Lisa Evans for coordinating another successful coat drive for our organization (NEOCH) that we will be able to distribute these items to those outside and others living in shelters and that visit the drop-in centers in the area surrounding Cleveland State,” she said. “We would like to also thank the maintenance staff for collecting the items and coordinating the two drop-offs.”