PHOEBE ROBERTSON (SHE/HER)
For the second year running, VUWSA and Student Finance have collaborated to bring Te Herenga Waka students the highly anticipated winter clothing drive. Both teams were enthusiastic about providing practical and tangible support to students. The collaboration has helped build relationships and offer ‘on the ground’ support to the student body.
Donations came from Te Herenga Waka staff members over several weeks, with this year's contributions easily surpassing those of last year. Tables and clothing racks were filled with jackets, jumpers, pants, long sleeves, shoes, and even blankets and pillows, all available for students to take for free. The event was so highly anticipated that students began lining up at 10 am for the 11 am start. Although the drive was scheduled to run from 11 am to 3 pm, most of the donations were gone by noon.
According to a representative from Te Herenga Waka, “The general consensus from students was that the event was a great idea and immensely helpful as they simply couldn’t afford a warm jacket this winter. A lot of international students let us know they didn’t know how cold Wellington would be, so they were not prepared and one student said that they had been sleeping without a pillow as they hadn’t been able to afford one.”
The success of the winter clothing drive would not have been possible without the collaboration between VUWSA and Student Finance. Weeks of planning and organisation culminated in an event that met a significant need within the student community. A heartfelt thank you goes out to Te Herenga Waka staff for their generous donations and continued support.