Archive: Around Town

The Ithaca Rotary Club wrapped up its 22nd annual Share the Warmth campaign in mid-December. Donations of new or gently used winter clothing were gratefully collected, sorted, and distributed across the area by volunteers from a number of sponsoring partner organizations: Ithaca Rotary Club, Trumansburg Rotary Club, Cornell University, Ithaca College, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Finger Lakes Re-Use, and the Samaritan Center of Catholic Charities.
 
Ithaca Rotary announced Wednesday that 548 Tompkins County households – 841 adults and 557 children – were received donations made to Share the Warmth. More than 4,000 items were picked up, collected, and sorted by volunteers for distribution through the Samaritan Center of Catholic Charities. The donated clothing was then distributed by Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga free of charge to individuals who needed such items for the winter months.
 
Ithaca Rotary acknowledged 14 locations around Tompkins County that set out the familiar “red box” collection bins: Agway True Value Home Center, GreenStar West-End and GreenStar Oasis, Island Health & Fitness (Taughannock Blvd. and Community Corners), Ithaca College Campus Center, Kendal at Ithaca, P&C Fresh, Triphammer Marketplace, Wegmans, YMCA, Tompkins Trust (Trumansburg), Trumansburg ShurSave, Kinney Drugs of Dryden, and various locations around the Cornell campus.
 
Share The Warmth was initiated by the Ithaca Rotary Club in 1992. Nearly 30% of Ithaca children are eligible to receive free or reduced school lunch. Almost 20% of Tompkins County residents live below the poverty level, compared to 14% state-wide.
 
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