WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Keeping Each Other Warm Jamestown Founder and Executive Director Georgeanna Guiffrida Ribbing about the program that aims to keep Jamestown residents warm this winter.

Several winter items are hung up at Lillian Dickson Park in Jamestown as part of the ‘Keeping Each Other Warm’ project.

The “Keeping Each Other Warm in Jamestown” program that provides free winter gear to residents will kick off its 8th year with a donation drive on Saturday at Jamestown Community College.

Founder and Executive Director Georgeanna Guiffrida Ribbing said the donation drive will take place from 10am to noon at the Curtis Street Parking Lot, “Myself and Shannon Bassette, who is a representative from the Jamestown Justice Coalition, we’re partnering with them this year for a few donation drives throughout the season and this is our first one to kick of the season in earnest. Her and I will be there collecting donation items for the project that we will hang on our clotheslines that are located throughout the city of Jamestown, throughout the season.”

Ribbing said people can bring new, store bought or handmade items to this event. All sizes of hats, gloves, earmuffs, scarves, winter socks; and newborn sizes in coats and snowpants will be accepted.

Ribbing said this year’s clothesline sites include the Riverwalk at the Keelboat Landing, outside Art Cloth & Studio on East Third Street, Lillian Dickson Park on Falconer Street, and the Willard Street Tot Lot, “The James Prendergast Library maintains a line right outside of their main doors at the library. They also double as a donation collection site as well, so any donations throughout the season can always be dropped off at the Prendergast Library during their regular business hours in addition to any donation drives or collection drives we have throughout the season.”

She added that Tracy Plaza also will have a line with City Hall operating as a donation site too. Donation sites will accept both new and gently used items.

For more information about the “Keeping Each Other Warm in Jamestown” program including donation drive events, visit them on Facebook at facebook.com/keepeachotherwarm

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with Georgeanna Guiffrida Ribbing from the Keeping Each Other Warm to learn more about the clothing drive initiative and to remind the community of a couple of upcoming collection efforts.

Keeping Each Other Warm, in collaboration with the Jamestown Justice Coalition, is continuing to welcome the chilly weather by hosting
its second Donation Drive of the Season. Stop by the JCC campus [Curtis Street parking lot, by the Community Garden/tennis courts] on Saturday, December 12 between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. with your new store-bought or handmade donation items.

Several winter items are hung up at Lillian Dickson Park in Jamestown as part of the ‘Keeping Each Other Warm’ project.

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Originally airing Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017 (Thanksgiving).

Jamestown resident Georgeanna Guiffrida stops by the WRFA studio to provide details of the Keeping Each Other Warm in Jamestown, NY project, now in its fourth year.

The project focuses on helping the less fortunate in the community by providing winter clothing items – like hats, scarves, gloves, socks, and even coats – at various locations throughout the city:
– Jamestown Riverwalk
– Reg Lenna Center For The Arts (in front of The Reg Studio)
– Dow Park (across from James Prendergast Library Association, in the lower corner of 7th and Washington Streets)
– Lillian Dickson Park (Falconer Street)
– Joe Z Coffee (corner of Forest and Prather Streets)

Anyone who wants to donate items can drop them off at several locations, including:
– Aftercare Nursing , Jamestown NY Office
[*new location 411 W. Third Street]
– Phoenix Rising Wellness Studio, Jamestown NY
[*new location 509 N. Main Street]
– Fluvanna Community Church, Jamestown NY
– Custom Carpet Centers
– Joe Z Coffee, Jamestown, NY

These drop off locations will have a basket ready to be filled with your generously donated cold-weather gear, that will be collected weekly, to be disbursed throughout our community.

Each and every donated item will be hung on at one of five established line sites for those in need to remove and receive for free.

Individuals and families are also encouraged to hang items you may have, personally, directly on any of the lines.

More details at www.facebook.com/keepeachotherwarm/

Several winter items are hung up at Lillian Dickson Park in Jamestown as part of the ‘Keeping Each Other Warm’ project.

Several winter items are hung up at Lillian Dickson Park in Jamestown as part of the ‘Keeping Each Other Warm’ project.

JAMESTOWN – Donations are being accepted all winter long for Keeping Each Other Warm in Jamestown, NY – a community outreach project spearheaded by local residents and whose purpose is to help neighbors in our community neighbors who need support to keep warm during our bitterly cold winter.

The project involves hanging winter clothing items on clothes lines in public places around Jamestown, and giving anyone in need of winter clothing the opportunity to take what they need.

The project is coordinated by residents Georgeanna Guiffrida Culpepper and Audrey Ralston.

Guiffrida Culpepper said they started working on the project in 2014, during an especially bitterly cold winter. “I came across a picture on Facebook that showed scarves tied around trees with the simple message, ‘If you’re stuck out in the cold, take me,'” she explained. “From there the idea grew. I talked with my family and collected our old winter items, the things my kids grew out of and things we didn’t use anymore. I talked to Audrey and she thought it was great and started looking through her items.”

“And then we started thinking, let’s expand the idea,” Guiffrida Culpepper said. “Instead of scarves, lets also provide gloves and hats and all kinds of things and so the idea took off from there with the clothes line and keeping the items clean and dry. So we just kind of kept brainstorming and came up with the basic premise of keeping each other warm.”

Keeping Each Other Warm encourages the donations of adult and children hats, scarves, earmuffs, ear bands, gloves and sock, along with children’s coats and snow pants.

The project will also accept monetary donations to assist in keeping lines in good repair, in addition to buying winter gear to hang.

Anyone wanting to donate items can do so by dropping them off at locations located throughout the city, including:

• Aftercare Nursing Services (Medical Arts Building, 500 Pine Street)The Medical Arts Building (500 Pine St.)
• Phoenix Rising Wellness Studio (212 Pine St.)
• First Lutheran Church (120 Chandler St.)
• Custom Carpet Center (Fairmount Ave., Lakewood)
• Joe Z Coffee (98 Forest Ave.)

Items can be found during the winter months hanging on lines located at:

• Jamestown Riverwalk
• Reg Lenna Center For The Arts (in front of The Reg Studio)
• Dow Park (across from James Prendergast Library Association, in the lower corner at 7th and Washington Streets)
• Lillian Dickson Park (Falconer Street)
• Joe Z Coffee (corner of Forest and Prather Streets)

More details on the project can be found at the Keeping Each Other Warm in Jamestown, NY Facebook page. Both Guiffreda Culpper and Ralston will also discuss the project during this week’s Community Matters program, which airs at 5 p.m. on Thursday on WRFA.