Prince Rupert Middle School seeking winter clothing donations

Colder days are quickly approaching and Prince Rupert Middle School is asking for the public’s help to make sure every kid has the clothes they need to stay warm this season.

Arlene McMillan, an educational assistant at the school is once again hosting a Winter Wear Walk clothing drive, this year alongside Havana Fisher, an Indigenous education mentor at the school.

The two staff members are asking for donations of outdoor gear including jackets, scarves, hats, mittens gloves and hoodies that are clean and in decent condition. Sizes from a kid’s 10 to an adult large are needed.

Residents can drop items off at the P.R. Middle School front office before Nov. 9.

On Nov. 9, McMillan and Fisher will put everything on display in a room at the school and invite students to walk through the racks and take anything they would like.

McMillan has been organizing the Winter Wear Walk for many years but has not been able to do it the last two due to COVID-19 restrictions.

So far this year she did not receive as many donations as usual and had to postpone the date for the students’ walk-through.

“It all started a long time ago when I personally just gave a jacket to a girl. It was my daughter’s jacket. And then she came to school the next day and I’m, like, ‘Where’s the coat I just gave you?’ And her mom had asked her to give it to her sister. So I went home and I got another coat and I gave it to her,” McMillan said.

“I think it helps the kids but it also helps the families. They don’t have to fork out $60 to $70 for a coat.”

If there are enough donations McMillan said they will organize another Winter Wear Walk later in the year. Anything left over will be given to the Kaien Island Anti-Poverty program.

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