A clothing collection box is located upstairs in Stafford Academic Center.
Sara Novenstern/Spartan Contributor

Two years ago Castleton’s nursing student Gabriel Briggs was struck with an idea.
“I thought of it during lecture and we briefly discussed it. I brought it up at the next SNA meeting and contacted a few local elementary schools who put me in touch with Fair Haven Concerned,” Briggs said.
Her thought: help clothe needy kids this winter.
Briggs, being a mother herself said “It pulled at my hearts strings” hearing that our kids don’t have warm clothes for the winter.
As a result, the second floor of Stafford now houses a donation box that has a lot more room for used coats, scarves, boots, gloves, hats and snow pants to give to area kids.
 There will soon be more boxes on campus to reach out to more students and staff, Briggs said.  
According to the 2015 edition of the Farmers’ Almanac and weather forecasters, the winter of 2014–15 will bring below-normal temperatures for about three-quarters of the nation, heightening the need.
Nursing department professors praised the work of Briggs and other students.
 “It is a good community effort, and is much needed in our area,” said professor Marie McDuff.
The donation box started collecting on Sept. 9 and will be around until mid October.
“The most satisfying piece is knowing that you are offering hope to children that may not understand or see where the hope could possibly be in difficult situations,” said Ashley Bride, director of the non-profit organization Fair Haven Concerned, which provides food and clothing to area needy.
Bride seemed filled with optimism and gratitude for the effort of the nursing students.
“It’s so gratifying to know that we are going to be able to offer a child some kind of warm pieces of clothing to go out to recess with … If we look at the larger scale of things, I deal with people every day and deal with situations that I think to myself ‘wow I don’t know how they’re keeping their head above water, but they are.’”
This is the nursing program’s second year collecting clothing for needy kids.
“I am hoping to do more fund-raisers for similar causes in the future. This is just the beginning and I hope the rest of the school will pick up on helping the littlest members of our community,” Briggs said.