The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019, March 12, 2014, Image 3

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The Clackamas print., March 12, 2014, Page 3, Image 3

Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR

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Newspaper Page TextP R IN T : News____________ / Wednesday, March 12,2014 **» 3 Photos by Patty Salazar The Clackamas Print Donny Beach News Editor A group o f Clackamas Community College students from a communications class began a humanitarian project, The Good Samaritan Project, as part o f a class assignment. The assignment? Devise a way to give back to the community and talk to people. Lauren Cole, elected leader o f the project, met with fellow class mates in front o f Roger Rook Hall at 9 a.m. Saturday to pile five team members, five volunteers and the 971 articles of clothing and blankets collected into three cars. During the setup and car assign ing, Rachel Söderberg team mem ber, called “shotgun” in true road trip fashion. Group members Ashley Anderson, Kelsea Heaton, Juana Morales and Chelsea Vincenzi joined their teammates and volun teers — Becky Copeland, Austin Dahlström and Kody Dahlström — in laughter. Missing group member Sean Blice would be meeting up with the group later before they headed into downtown Portland. The Clackamas Print met with the group to find out what The Good Samaritan Project was all about. The Print: The W ho came up with the project name? Cole: We talked it out and The Good Samaritan Project came out of those talks. It is the perfect name. TP: W ho came up with the idea of collecting clothes for the homeless? Söderberg: Once again, it was a group effort. We all had similar ideas about what we wanted to col lect. Cole: It’s cold here in the winter. No one wants to have wet feet, so socks were a high concern for us too. TP: T here were donation boxes outside the ASG office. How m any boxes of donated goods did you get from the people at th e college? Cole: Four large bags and a huge quilt. TP: Were you surprised by the am ount of donations? Vincenzi: I was hoping for more, but the biggest surprise was the amount of donations we received from the box at McNaulty & Barry’s bar on Main Street [in Oregon City]. We collected over 500 articles from that box alone. Copeland: We even got mon etary donations from people at Lauren’s mom’s work. Cole: Nearly $300 in cash dona tions. Vincenzi: Which we used to buy blankets from Fred Meyer and wash all the donations at the laundry mat. TP: You mentioned having a box at the bar in town. Did you have other donation boxes setup? Söderberg: We each had a box setup in a different area, close to where we live. Morales: We also used social media to promote the project — Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and hung up fliers around campus. Vincenzi: We received lots of interested people asking if we could pick up donations. Some delivered their donations here to the school as well. TP: Do you feel this was a worthwhile assignment/project? Morales: It is important and has a great impact on our community. I hope we were successful in raising Top: Ashley Anderson helps Luis go through a bag o f m en’s pants. Above: The Good Samaritan Project group goes through a bag o f scarves and hats. Throughout their route the group was asked fo r blankets, gloves and socks the most. Bottom left: After a thorough search through bags fo r the perfect jacket. Bottom right: The group leaves a blanket with socks on a mans lap his friend finds a scarf to keep her warm during a rainy Saturday in Portland. awareness for the homeless prob lems. Vincenzi: It was the successful project in class. Cole: What we aren’t able to deliver by hand will be donated to the Portland Rescue Mission because they have a DHS closet for interviews. DHS sends people who need nice clothes for a job interview T’P: Would you have done this if it weren’t a class assignment? Cole: I volunteer with OHSU . community service already and soup kitchens just don’t leave as long o f an impact as new clothes - one hot meal versus many days of being warmly clothed. Morales: I did a similar project in high school. I organized a food drive and collected food for my senior project The Print followed the Good Samaritan Project from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Initially the group met with disappointment; the first two stops on frie trip proved to be unsuccessful because the spots were either deserted or the people were not interested in clothing assistance. The Portland trek o f compassion and goodwill was met with both “no”s and “thank you”s. Only once was the group responded to with hostility when one gentleman in a wheelchair was offended by the offer to help. “No, he’s not homeless. He’s a wonderful man. Thank you,” said the gentleman’s companion. But others were more than happy to accept the group’s gener osity. One gentleman came back to express his gratitude. “God bless you guys. It’s a good thing you are doing. I really needed a hew jacket.” One individual was found walk ing along the Park Blocks without any shoes on. The group sent a runner back to the car to grab the bags that had shoes for him. Shortly afterward, they were approached by another o f Portland’s homeless. “I doubt you have shoes in my size, but do you have gloves?” he asked. Gloves, jackets, socks and shoes were the most asked after articles of clothing along the Park Blocks. But if you missed a chance to donate don’t fret, the Good Samaritan Project turned in its con stitution to ASG last week and will become an official CCC activities club in the coming Spring term.