Having a year of experience under their belts paid off for the Gluckstadt Mayor’s Youth Council in this year’s coat drive for MadCAAP – exceeding their goal by hundreds of coats donated.
The council set the goal of collecting 250 coats to donate to MadCAAP, a nonprofit serving Madison County – a lofty goal after collecting about 80 coats in their first drive last year. Founder and Executive Director of the Gluckstadt Mayor’s Youth Council Julia Lever said they learned from last year and started their drive earlier this time running from November to February, but she was still nervous about their ability to more than double last year’s donation.
“The goal did seem a bit lofty at the time,” Lever said. “However, we collected a total of 1,186 coats – that’s 936 coats past our original goal. I was just overwhelmingly grateful and proud. It was fun watching us set a goal, reach it, set another goal, reach it and so on. It really showed all of us the power of teamwork.”
The council this year included members from schools outside of Gluckstadt, including Madison-Ridgeland Academy, Jackson Academy, Jackson Prep, Canton Academy and St. Andrew’s. This helped the coat drive spread well beyond where it had last year.
“Matthew Latham is a senior, and he is our MRA Representative,” Lever said. “ What I love about Matthew is he isn’t afraid to speak up. He jumped in and asked his administration if MRA as a school would get behind our drive and help us, and they did. MRA actually made our coat drive part of their school-wide service project.”
The same thing happened at Canton Academy.
“Amelia Rose Cook is a junior at Canton Academy and Addison Cado is a sophomore at Canton Academy, and both are members of the council and have been very involved,” Lever said. “They approached their administration and asked if the school could support our coat drive. The Canton Academy National Honor Society took up our cause and collected hundreds of coats – literally hundreds!”
Under the direction of Mr. Brian Rock, Germantown High School’s National Honor Society also embraced the project and got involved.
“Each of these three schools allowed us to put a collection box in the hall and students brought in bags of coats,” Lever said. “These are students who aren’t afraid to step up and ask for help with a project they believe in. It’s nice that the administration for each of these schools thought enough of what we are doing and who we are that they not only got behind our coat drive, but they pushed it out and stood by it. I can’t thank these schools and their principals and headmasters enough. This is something that is important to us, and we witnessed parents and teachers and community members embrace our cause and show up.”
Lever said an impromptu competition ensued between the schools to see who could bring in the most coats.
“I’m not going to say who I think did bring in the most, because someone will debate me on it, but I think next year we may actually make it a contest for bragging rights,” Lever said.
Lever said she’s been overwhelmed by how big the drive became, the support from the community, and all they accomplished.
“It just took our breath away,” Lever said. “When we reached the 250 goal within just a week or so of collecting, I thought we might be able to reach 300, but everyone wanted to readjust our goal to 500, then 800 and, after that, we all agreed to just see how far we could go. We thought we would end around 1,000 and then at the last minute, Canton Academy really came through with literally an SUV full of coats. It was packed so tight with just bags and bags of coats.”
MadCAAP was so appreciative every time the council dropped off a load of coats, Lever said.
“We brought in so many coats that MadCAAP was able to share with other charities, so that makes all of us feel good to know that our efforts and effects are extended beyond just our original goal,” Lever said. “As far as the impact for the MYC, we now have a bigger goal for next year because we will have to exceed this year, so the pressure is on.”
Lever expressed how important this project is to the council because it is their signature way to make an impact on their community.
“We wanted our efforts to be concentrated in Madison County,” Lever said. “There are so many great charities and organizations that help all over the tri-county area, but we wanted to keep our sights set on Madison County, since this is our home. MadCAAP does so many good things and it’s so well organized.”
Lever said this project really showed the impact teenagers and teamwork can have.
“I know that our efforts helped improve a lot of people’s situations,” Lever said. “We all take for granted being warm and having what we need, and it’s good to see that we have the capability to make someone comfortable and we did it together. Everyone pulled their weight and went beyond the call. I think it’s also created some pride and respect for the members at their school. We are doing huge things here and the administration at these schools see that.”
The year is winding down for the Mayor’s Youth Council with only a few meetings left and their end of the year banquet where Secretary Michael Watson will speak and the city will award scholarships to two members, but Lever said they will only get bigger and better each year.
“The great thing about this council is that we are all different – we come from different backgrounds and different schools and only a few of us knew each other before, but we have all become friends and made these really cool connections with each other,” Lever said. “It seems really time consuming at certain times of the year, but all the members just make it work and we are all used to balancing other responsibilities. It’s been fun to watch a group of like-minded students that otherwise would not have known each other become friends and help the community and serve others at the same time.”
