St. Mary's School Collects Coats, Books For Needy

students in the third and sixth grades had a coat drive to collect more than 280 coats for the clients of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County this winter.

The students and their parents planned and marketed the coat-drive project, which resulted in a generous response from the St. Mary’s community, said school spokeswoman Sue Jamieson.

Students promoted the coat drive through ads in the church bulletin, posters on campus, signs in the morning and afternoon car lines and word of mouth. They also staffed the coat-collection bins, sorted and counted the coats.

"It was rewarding for us to know that others would be a little warmer this winter and to see how the St. Mary’s community responded so graciously to the drive," third-grade teacher Erika Freitas said. "The students' positive attitude, excitement and commitment to the project were wonderful to be a part of."

Also, the school's first-grade class focused its fall outreach project on giving the gift of reading. They collected 54 new books for the children at Santee Mission, a community in East San Jose, Jamieson said.

More than 10 years ago, three Sisters of the Holy Names started the mission in the low-income East San Jose Santee neighborhood. A small group of the religious women live in the community, Jamieson said.

The class also collected more than 100 gently used books for Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, which offers several programs and services to help families and individuals get out of poverty.