UMass Boston’s Golden Key International Honour Society chapter and WUMB Radio recently held their annual Share the Warmth Clothing Drive to benefit those in need in the Greater Boston area and beyond. This year’s drive was the duo’s most successful drive to date in its 5-year history of collaborating on this special project.
Golden Key has sponsored a clothing drive for at least the past 8 years on the UMass Boston campus and has collaborated with WUMB Radio for 5 of those years. For the past couple of years, the students have also partnered with the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association, taking the drive to a new level off campus and into several folk and acoustic music coffeehouses throughout the state of Massachusetts. This year, 5 coffeehouses, participated in the annual drive and helped to share the warmth to individuals and families in need from the Boston area to Cape Cod by collecting clothing items at their winter concerts. These coffeehouses included: Javawocky Coffeehouse (Brockton, MA), Linden Tree Coffeehouse (Wakefield, MA), North Street Coffeehouse (Medfield, MA), Rose Garden Coffeehouse (Mansfield, MA), and Third Fret Coffeehouse (Marston Mills, MA).  In addition, one school, The Children’s Studio (Norton, MA) also collected clothes for the drive at a special concert featuring Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion.
It is estimated that an impressive 3,200 pounds of clothing were collected this year. The idea behind the drive is to “share the warmth” of the clothing items collected with many non-profit organizations that serve those less fortunate in our communities. This year collected clothing was donated to: Rosie’s Place, Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, St. Vincent de Paul, the Salvation Army, and the Community Action Committee of Cape Cod and the Islands. In addition, 5 dog sweaters and coats were collected through the drive and will be donated to a yet to be identified animal shelter in the Boston area.
 “Every item donated will impact the life of someone in need”, said Christine DePalma as she organized and sorted through a multitude of clothing items, including at least 100 warm coats at a special clothing drive concert organized by Third Fret Coffeehouse in Marston Mills. Christine, an assistant campus planner at UMass Boston and co-advisor of the UMass Boston Golden Key chapter noted that in addition to making a difference in the lives of others, the annual student organized clothing drive also helps students develop skills and knowledge including leadership, communication, marketing, project planning, and management.