University of Calgary duo collects winter clothes for city’s vulnerable population

Two Calgary university students have come up with an initiative called Compassion Calgary, collecting new and gently used cold-weather wear.

University of Calgary students Nathan Barreth and Nikhil Srivalsan have come up with an initiative called Compassion Calgary.

They’re collecting winter clothing donations throughout the month of October for the city’s vulnerable population.

Jackets, toques, gloves and boots—they will take it all.

“It’s really dependent on what’s available—on what people are able to provide,” said Srivalsan.

“If it’s new, that would be great, but used products are also welcome here—anything, really.”

The duo has teamed up with the Calgary Drop-In Centre’s Free Goods and Donation Centre for the initiative.

Barreth says they’re appealing to all Calgarians for their winter clothing drive, but they’re seeing keen interest from other university students wanting to participate.

“A lot of people have helped with promotion, outreach and donation collection,” he said.

“Even to the point where we think doing future initiatives with the Calgary Drop-In Centre through the university could be something we continue to do.”

Both say they have personal reasons for wanting to help those in need.

Barreth’s parents took him to the Salvation Army to volunteer when he was young.

“I think that initial exposure is really what helped me understand sort of the unseen problems a lot of people in this vulnerable group have and really taught me the importance of service,” he said.

“I’m a regular transit commuter,” said Srivalsan.

“During the winter, I have the unfortunate privilege of seeing some people facing the harsh realities of the winter, especially when it gets really cold—like -30, -40—and seeing them cope with the weather really just brought something out emotionally in me.”

Barreth and Srivalsan are studying biomedical sciences, and while they say it’s not directly related to vulnerable populations, they do see some connections in their classes.

“Public health and issues that face local communities, which are particularly relevant, and that includes dealing with unhoused populations or people facing addiction,” said Srivalsan.

“It’s not entirely aligned, but you can draw some parallels between them since it is a biomedical science-based degree; a lot of it is based on the lab-based work and molecular kind of stuff.”

Ryan O’Neill, Free Goods Program manager at the Drop-In Centre, says there is a large unhoused population in Calgary that needs help at this time of year.

“At the Calgary Drop-In Centre, we’re already sleeping around 750 people a night,” he said.

“Last year, the count that the Calgary Homeless Foundation ran had just over 3,100 homeless people in the city of Calgary.”

O’Neill says now is the time to donate winter clothing items—before the snow flies and the temperature plummets.

“As soon as it snows, they need a jacket, or they need gloves, or they need (toques) and items like that,” he said.

“So to wait until after it starts snowing or after the temperature dips into the negatives, essentially, we’re playing catch-up.”

O’Neill says initiatives like the one Barreth and Srivalsan are seeing through can make a world of difference to Drop-In Centre clients.

“Just think of the dignity that it provides, just to be able to have a piece of clothing that you can call yours, that keeps you warm and keeps you out of the cold,” he said.

“That’s why initiatives such as Compassion Calgary to support us go such a long way, because it’s a ripple effect—it gets other people thinking about how to donate and how to give and how we as privileged individuals can support those that are in need and those that are struggling.”

Compassion Calgary would like to collect 1,000 winter clothing items in the month of October.

The project email address is [e-mail], which can be used to arrange a donation pickup.

You can learn more about the Compassion Calgary project through its Instagram page and QR code donation form at https://www.instagram.com/compassion.calgary/.