Students from STEAM at Dr. King Elementary School will be a bit warmer this winter thanks to a donation of more than 450 new winter coats from the students and staff at Upstate Medical University.
The coat drive was held at Upstate during November and the collected coats were dropped off recently at Dr. King School.
Just a half-mile from the Upstate campus, Dr. King School has a special bond the with the academic medical center. Upstate students have often visited the school to participate in science programs and fairs, so when Dr. King students needed warm coats, Dr. King administrators connected with Upstate to see if they could accommodate.
The coat drive was organized by the Public Health Interest Group, a student organization aimed at spreading awareness and knowledge of public health issues in the Central New York community and around the world, and Docs for Tots, a pediatric interest group that supports community activities to benefit children in need, such as the Kids Café for the CNY Food Bank.
Other significant supporters included Upstate students and employees Maxim Construction Services, National Grid, an anonymous donor, Team Upstate, A-M Electric, Target and the Center for Civic Engagement, especially Simone Seward and Armando Martinez.