Each winter since 2007, the School of Natural Resources’ Community Engagement program has sought to help out Clinton Elementary School students by donating winter gear, household supplies and more. A donation bin is now available on Hardin Hall’s first floor, across from the Maps and More Store. Donations can also be made online.

This year, the biggest items of need are warm, child-sized clothing – including coats, mittens and hats. Leggings, long-sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and underwear are also among the most-needed items. Adult-sized clothing and summer clothes of any size are not accepted.

Along with clothing, Clinton students and their families benefit from household item donations such as detergent, toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, deodorant and body wash. Gift cards to the Dollar Tree will be accepted. Ninety-five percent of Clinton Elementary School’s 500 students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch, and the neighborhoods that Clinton serves experience poverty at a higher rate than much of Lincoln.

Financial donations are also being accepted. Cash and checks can be donated at Maps and More during its weekday hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Donations can also be made online at the link above. Select “Clinton Emergency Fund” in the dropdown menu.

The School of Natural Resources wants to keep a record of how much their faculty, staff and students contribute to the Clinton Emergency Fund. If you donate by check, please make it out to Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools and include Clinton Emergency Fund in the ledger. If you donate online, please consider letting Dee Ebbeka know the amount you contributed by emailing her.

Look for the donation bin beneath a puffy orange coat on Hardin Hall’s first floor. It will be there until Dec. 10, when the items will be distributed.