Bulkeley High School in Hartford needs warm clothes donations this year because of the number of students coming from hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.
"Many students are now coming, they’re being enrolled due to the hurricane in Puerto Rico and they have no place to go so they’re coming here. And when they come here, they often don’t have the items they need in order to be prepared for a winter in Connecticut," Gretchen Levitz, the program director at Bulkeley High School, said.
The school is hoping you can help donate items to keep these students warm: scarves, hats, coats, gloves and socks are needed. The school is also looking for donations of personal hygiene products including, maxi pads, toothbrushes, liquid soap, shampoo, lotion and deodorant.
"Since I came here I was coming to school with this blazer and it was very cold and this doesn’t work for this cold," Gia De Leon, who just moved from Puerto Rico three weeks ago, said. "I didn’t come with any jackets. I don’t have scarves. I don’t have enough boots or socks that I could feel warm in this weather."
Within the last two months, a total of 36 students have arrived just from Puerto Rico.
The items donated would not only go to those students but also students from other countries like Jasmine Lall from Guyana and Etienne Trotman from Guinea.
"I get cold really fast and its sort of difficult for me but I’m trying to cope," Lall said.
Local
"I used personally before the clothes they give us and I really think it can benefit us," Trotman said.
If you’d like to donate, just contact the school and ask for Levitz to arrange to bring any items or email her directly.
For more information, go to the school's website or the Facebook page.
Separately, the Taste of Bulkeley will be held on Dec. 7. All proceeds will go to students for needed programming, items and supplies. Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite for $20. There will also be a silent auction.
