Written by: Divya Palasamudram
NITP Drives
Sowndarya Chivukula, Nithya Janapati, Roshni Daruvuri , Tanvi Kadam, Mitali Patwardhan, Ved Banerjee, Preksha Jain, Manya Bhagat and Divya Palasamudram all hosted a clothing drive for Note In The Pocket. Note In The Pocket (NITP) is a nonprofit organization that provides quality clothing to homeless and impoverished students in Wake County. As mentioned by Note In The Pocket themselves, “Our goal is to provide these children with a full wardrobe of matching, stylish, school-appropriate clothing so they have the confidence needed to succeed in the academic environment.”
General Services’ NITP drives collected a total of 5,647 articles of clothing (5,558 for Note in the Pocket and 90 for Trendy Thrifts). Roshni and Tanvi’s drive collected the most clothing items (2,170 articles of clothing!). To learn specifically about their drive, click here. Sowndarya’s drive collected the next most articles of clothing, at 1,260 articles of clothing! To learn more about the execution of everyone’s impressive drives, keep reading!
Promotion
Sending digital flyers on your neighborhood group chat is always an effective method of promotion and outreach. Every member that held a drive posted about it in their neighborhood group chats! Preksha’s neighborhood group chat had 400+ members, posting about their drive here was an amazing way to spread the news. Along with posting digital flyers, posting physical flyers around your neighborhood is a great way to harbor donations. Preksha put copies of her flyer on her donation bins as well as at her neighborhood mailbox.
Obstacles
Sowndarya reported that rain destroyed a few of her flyers. Additionally, a box of clothes that was not left under a roof also became soggy because of the rain. So be sure to keep weather in mind when planning where to leave donation bins/boxes and flyers! Sowndarya also mentioned that she received a lot more donations than she expected (a good problem to have! ) so be prepared for an influx of donations, especially nearing the end of your drive! Even with the rain, she was able to collect 1,260 items!
Tips
The group had great advice to share! Preksha suggested promoting your drive beforehand as well as when your drive is in progress, she also advises to emphasize where your donations are going so that people know that their items are going to a reputable organization. Sowndarya mentioned that most people donated in the afternoons and evenings, so if possible, stepping outside during that time of day and thanking donors is a good idea!
Conclusion
In conclusion, hosting NITP drives is a great way to bring good to your community. At the end of the day, every donation has a great impact, and we are thankful for everyone’s donation. NITP drives also tend to bring in a large amount of donations, and every General Services’ NITP drive has been a success! If you have been inspired to host your own neighborhood drive/project, go for it! General Services is here to help in any way!