A Midnight Run is a supervised trip into New York City to
distribute meals and clothing to the homeless. Usually starting at 9 or
10 p.m. and lasting well past midnight, these trips are undertaken by
churches, synagogues, schools and civic groups from suburban New York,
New Jersey and Connecticut. Midnight Runs take place every Friday and
Saturday night, as well as on Sunday mornings, and some weekday nights.
On any given designated night, two to six volunteer groups may be doing
a Run. The Runs are coordinated by an administrative organization, also
called Midnight Run, founded in 1984 and located in Dobbs Ferry, NY;
which assigns each participating volunteer group several specific stops
in New York. Numerous locations have been identified as areas with
concentrations of homeless individuals; much of the homeless population
is aware that food and clothing are brought to these locations on a
regular basis. Many of the homeless people that are served by the
Midnight Runs look forward to having a conversation with the
volunteers. If you are interested in learning more about Midnight Run,
log on to their website, www.midnightrun.org.
How can I help this effort?
By donating clothing and food.
The SCC Youth Action Committee (Y.A.C.) has placed collection
boxes for warm clothing, shoes, and toiletries in the lobby of
the
Parish House. Food donations will be organized closer to the run.
By donating your time.
There will be an opportunity on Saturday, January 28th, the night
of
the Run, for individuals of all
ages, and families, to participate in preparing food - making
sandwiches, bagging cookies, and packing up the brown bags. Volunteers
will also be needed to label and sort clothing items by size, and to
bag up travel-size toiletries. We will be posting a sign-up sheet for
volunteers to help out on January 28, from approximately 6:30-8:30 p.m.
What, specifically, is needed?
Clothing: Men's work boots and heavy shoes, sizes 10+ (NO dress
shoes, please)
Men's jeans, sizes 34+
Men's winter parkas, large sizes (NO wool overcoats, please
Men's plain knit hats, and heavy gloves
Men's sweatshirts, with hoods if at all possible
An adequate supply of women's clothing is already available, and is not
needed at this time.
Toiletries: Travel size containers of shampoo, shaving cream, lotion,
and toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Disposable razors
Some of these items can be purchased inexpensively at places like
Costco and Sam's Club. Keep in mind
that the people we are serving are layering their clothes, so larger
sizes are desireable. Items should be new, or like new. There is
still a lot of winter ahead, and living on the streets is hard on
clothes and shoes. Donations need to be in very good condition to last.
Donations of money will be used to
purchase needed items that were not donated.
