For the past 20 years, McNicholas’s Service Club has sponsored the Warm Clothing Drive and Soles for Souls shoe collection to benefit hundreds of persons in need in the Cincinnati area.
Community Service Coordinator and Theology teacher Sam Roflow said he implemented these service projects at McNicholas due to hearing stories from his wife.
“My wife, who worked for the poor, always saw kids and adults who needed clothes that fit or weren’t tattered,” Roflow said.
For this year, students and faculty donated 600 articles of clothing for St. Vincent DePaul, and 125 pairs of shoes for the Aubrey Rose Foundation in Owensville, Ohio. Both organizations are dedicated to aiding the less fortunate by providing for their basic needs, however the Aubrey Rose Foundation specializes in tending to those with disabilities or illnesses.
“I always tell my students that if they haven’t worn an item of clothing for more than a year they should give it to someone who needs it,” Roflow said. He added, “In Matthew 25, one of the things Jesus said was, ‘When I was naked, you clothed me.’”
“It’s important to contribute because there are so many people out there who don’t have the privilege of having a home to go back to every day, much less be able to afford a Catholic High School,” junior Erin Callahan said. “We are so privileged and have so much comparatively, it’s only right that we offer what we have in excess to those who are in need.”
Warm clothing is compiled in the Theology rooms for St. Vincent DePaul. The items will be distributed throughout the winter to benefit those who need them.
The McNicholas Milestone 