PARKERSBURG - The Parkersburg student chapter of People to People International is collecting pillows for Marie's House to Home, a local homeless shelter.
The pillow drive is one of several humanitarian projects organized by the Mountaineer Monarchs, the first student chapter of People to People International in West Virginia.
The group is collecting new or gently used pillows until Feb 15. Pillows, along with hats, gloves and coats, can be dropped off at CJ's Italian Kitchen, at 75 Covington Way in Vienna, or The Berkshire, at 101 Wyndham Knob in Parkersburg.
In December, the group collected around 300 blankets and several bags of gloves, hats and coats for House to Home at 413 Eighth St. Extra donations were given to Cornerstone Home, a Marietta shelter.
"When we dropped off the blankets, we asked if there was anything else the shelter really needed, and we were told they always need pillows," said Kimberly Pope-Shulman, one of the group's adult advisers. "So the kids organized another drive for House to Home."
The nonprofit organization is run by around 20 student members from the Mid-Ohio Valley. Parkersburg People to People joins more than 250 other student chapters around the world.
The Mountaineer Monarchs' other fundraising projects have included a car wash and the ongoing Miles for Measles, an initiative to fund measles vaccines, with a goal of vaccinating one billion children in 60 developing countries.
Students chose to hold blanket and pillow drives this winter to fill a need in their own community.
"The kids really want to have a direct impact," said Pope-Shulman. "I think focusing on the homeless population has really raised awareness and opened the students' eyes to the needs in the community. It allows them to give back."
