Written by union student Daniel-JOsÉ Cyan
When you walk toward the Burke library, the elevator, or the morning coffee table, it’s hard to miss the gift-wrapped open box by the free library. Posted above it and in many other places on Union’s campus is a flyer with a coat graphic that reads “UTS x New York Cares”. This is the second year that the coat drive with New York Cares is on Union’s campus, and UTS student, Alisha Madkins, the drive behind this initiative, hopes it continues as a yearly tradition.
New York Cares was born in 1987 by a group of friends looking for volunteer opportunities. Now they are the largest volunteer organization in New York City. They offer plenty of ways to volunteer, including their seasonal opportunities such as Winter Wishes, Coat Drive, and Winter Gala. Union is involved with two of the programs: Winter Wishes and the Coat Drive.
Alisha reached out to UTS student caucus chairs mid October to ask if they would be willing to sponsor a child’s gift for $40. Many of the chairs stepped up. It was a no-brainer. The amount asked for would barely dent the budgets and it would mean that a child in NYC who might otherwise not receive a gift could have something to look forward to. I sat down with Alisha on November 15th to talk about her motivation to get Union involved with New York Cares. We talked about our experiences living in NYC and the feasible ways to help communities that live in the margins in a city that grows to be stratified more and more as time goes on. We reflected on the requests many of the children had for gifts and reflected on our own childhoods and the gifts we wanted. We mulled over the recent election results and what it might mean for our own communities.
“Someone once told me that these are not vulnerable people. They are people that have been put in vulnerable situations,” Alisha said during our interview. I agreed silently off camera but when we broke from recording, we talked about the welfare system in NYC and the economic injustices that keep folks oppressed with no way out of a situation they have systematically been placed in. In February of this year, the temperatures dropped to 3 degrees Fahrenheit. A coat drive in a box in a hallway is easy to miss, but the coats it holds can save lives.
What I’ve learned and relearned for much of my life has been how community care makes change. As we inch closer to a changing federal administration in January, initiatives such as this act as a reminder of what care can mean for people’s livelihoods. Materially, it could mean a coat, a toy, or the offering of afterschool activities. Simple asks with such powerful resonance. It’s community that makes a difference.
As a seminary focused on the intersection of religion, spirituality, and justice, tending to human beings aligns with our values. Union helps prepare our students to serve their communities, and it’s evident that many of our students have already been engaged in this work.
Watch this interview and learn more about Alisha and the winter coat drive here: