The last few months have been cold and frosty but that doesn’t mean APSU students, faculty and staff have to be. The Center for Service-Learning and Community Engagement, along with the SOS Food Pantry, now has a way for campus dwellers to stay warm.

You may have seen the traveling coat rack around campus. The coat rack is part of the pantry’s new initiative to help APSU attendees bundle up during these winter months.
“Winter weather can be tough on students and while the food pantry hosts a free thrift store with clothing and coats, the need for students to be dressing for the weather is something we wanted to reach as many students as possible,” Alexandra Wills and Maddie MacGalliard said in a joint email interview.

Willis is the Director for the Center for Service-Learning & Community Engagement and MacGalliard is the AmeriCorps VISTA Food Pantry Manager. They, along with the rest of the food pantry staff, work together to ensure that APSU students have what they need—whether that’s food, breaks or coats.
“The travelling coat rack lets students both get help and give help at the same time. People can donate a coat; people can grab a coat and its self-sustaining, hopefully. This also gets the word out that we have a food pantry and that there are folks on campus helping out,” Willis and MacGalliard said.
The traveling coat rack is traveling for a reason.
“This coat rack allows the food pantry to extend its reach during the winter months to those who need warmer clothing. The coat rack has been in academic buildings, the university center and the Foy which we hope will reach a diverse group of students, so that anyone who might need a coat can find one,” Willis and MacGalliard added.
The traveling coat rack just started this past December but APSU can expect to see it from December to February every year from now on. The food pantry wants to continue this on campus to extend their mission as much as possible. That mission is to service APSU and its attendants by any means necessary.
“Walking around campus and seeing students huddled up walking between buildings, we saw the need for our coats to get to the students. Its winter! If not now, then when?” Willis and MacGalliard said.
If you see a coat and need it, grab it. The coat rack will be up until the end of the month.