NEWBERRY COUNTY — The Newberry County Young Professionals (NYP) recently wrapped up their fifth annual HUGS (Hats, Underwear, Gloves, Socks) Drive to help fill a need with students within Newberry County.
Mary Alex Kopp, president-elect of NYP, said the organization began this drive after consulting with the Newberry County School District.
“These are the items we were told Newberry school children need during the holidays, that’s why we run this drive as opposed to a coat drive,” she said. “Particularly, the need for sanitary clothing items, like underwear and socks, become really important during this time of year. These items are surprisingly expensive from stores for a lot of families. This is a way we can help supplement that need.”
With an outpouring of donations, both of the requested items and monetary, Kopp had nothing but appreciation for everyone involved, including their partner organizations and individuals who contributed.
“This is quite a bit that we’ve gotten from folks who came to the Newberry County Chamber of Commerce to donate and our partners at Newberry College. The college ran a couple of promotions as well, people could bring a donation in exchange for basketball tickets,” Kopp said. “We are grateful to our community partners that donated and also those who donated funds so we could go and fill in where maybe we didn’t receive quite as much of one item as another.”
This year’s partner organizations include the Newberry County Chamber of Commerce, the Muller Center and the Newberry College African American Alumni Chapter. As mentioned by Kopp, Newberry College gave free admission to both the men’s and women’s basketball games on Tuesday, Nov. 22, with any donations to the drive, helping garner even more donations.
“Thank you to everyone in the community who came out and gave and we look forward to doing it again next year,” Kopp said.