Saugus High School holding winter coat drive for needy families Saugus

SAUGUS – Saugus High School students are looking for winter coats of all sizes in an effort to help out needy families around Saugus.The coat drive is being put on by the club Students United for Malawi and Other Noble Efforts, or SUMONE, which is headed up by math teacher Valerie Bedard and has about 12 students in it.So far Bedard said her club has collected about 10 coats after starting the drive last week.?It?s tough when you have a long weekend,” said Bedard. “Usually when you start something at the high school it takes a little while for word to get around.”On Tuesday, seniors Brian Joyce and Nathalie Gonzalez along with freshman Michaela Lovett met with Bedard in room E14 to discuss the drive, which is being held in conjunction with the charity One Warm Coat.?The coat drive is important because we live in a cold area and all those coats would go in the trash if it wasn?t for us doing this,” said Joyce, who is also in the video production club and the school?s improv troupe. “Anything anyone has sitting in their closets that they?re willing to give would be great.”Gonzalez is the student who spearheaded the effort, according to Joyce.?I thought about doing it before,” said Gonzalez. “I?ve done it at church too, so I thought it would be nice to do it at school. Especially when the kids come back from Christmas break and they got new jackets and don?t know what to do with the other ones.”The coat drive is just one of many charitable efforts by the SUMONE club. Bedard, who taught math at an all girls secondary school in Malawi when she was a Peace Corps volunteer in the late 1980s, helped to organize an open mic night and a baked goods drive to help the children of Malawi.Much of the money raised goes to livestock, food and school fees for Malawi children, said Bedard. To help raise awareness, Bedard holds a Malawi Day each year in her class.?I decorate my whole room with things from Malawi and I teach the kids what it?s like there,” said Bedard. “We have music and dancing and a slide show and it?s become a really popular thing where kids get really excited for Malawi Day.”Bedard said she personally takes donations to Malawi herself.?I go there every year or two in the summer and I take the money there,” said Bedard. “I take photos and I come back with stories and pictures so kids can see what is happening with the money they?re giving.”For Joyce, the SUMONE club is a chance to see donations actually go to work.?It?s a third-world country that we have access to,” said Joyce. “It?s not like an ambiguous organization where we give them money and we don?t know where it goes. We give the money to Ms. Bedard and Ms. Bedard knows where all of her charities go.”Whether it be the global or local, Joyce said being a member of the SUMONE club is all about helping, which is why he and Bedard first started the club earlier this school year.?Originally me and Ms. Bedard were talking about holding a big fundraising night ?” said Joyce. “But over time it developed into having a club ? then to not just focusing on Malawi, but doing local stuff too. It just kind of all branched from there. I think it?s good to have a charity established at Saugus High. There are other ones, but this one has a more cultural focus.”The coat drive is ongoing and any donations can be dropped off at a box at the front office or directly to Bedard.To help spread the word, Joyce said they put posters and flyers around school, which Joyce said has been successful in past efforts.?Fifty coats sounds nice,” said Joyce. “Fifty sounds reasonable, but anything is good.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].