Indiana State trades house for tents to help Coats for Kids

Oct 30, 2009

After raising about $450 on the first day alone, members of Alpha Tau Omega concluded their campout yesterday.

Junior marketing and finance major Nick Renick said that about 200 people donated money to the Coats for Kids Foundation. This does not include the $1,500 total worth of personal donations from each brother in the fraternity.

“Besides the rain the first night, I feel good about the experience,” Renick said. “Students actually supported us this year. They were more familiar with the event. Last year we raised about half as much as we did this year.”

Junior criminal justice major Cody Barlow said he thought they raised a good amount of donations.

“One guy sat out here for most of the day asking people to donate as they walked by,” Barlow said. “His name is Nick Shaw, and he raised a lot of that money by just asking.”

Shaw, a senior physical education major, was not available to give comments at the time.

Barlow said he is thankful to all the people who helped and donated because it is going to a great cause. He said they should feel glad that all the money is going to kids in the Wabash Valley to help them stay warm this winter.

Barlow said the campout experience was a positive way to reconnect with the community. He said often times students get so caught up in the university and the campus that they forget there are people who don’t have the same opportunity. He said he hopes the donations will make children’s lives more comfortable and hopes they will get the opportunities the students at ISU have.

Brett Arnold, a junior chemistry major, said the campout has expanded the idea and awareness of the Coats for Kids Foundation.

Arnold said the money that ATO raised means a lot, but they really wanted to raise awareness on campus. He said he hopes people will donate next year as well.

“We will definitely be out next year,” Arnold said. “There are always kids who don’t have money to buy coats. So, everyone is encouraged to donate again.”

Junior business management major Dustin Harper said he thinks it was so much better than last year because it was so much more well known this year. He said he feels good about the amount donated because people have been more generous.

“People should donate because a lot of kids don’t have coats, which makes them miss school,” Harper said. “They can’t get the education they need to better their situation if they don’t have coats to stay warm and healthy.”

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