The Andres Pancha Anchor Community’s winter coat drive was a success, collecting over eight boxes of donations filled with coats, jumpers, hoodies and other warm articles of clothing.
Held on Sunday, 6 July, members Charlene and Katalina set up camp in an open space at the Berwick Springs Promenade, where foot traffic was heaviest.
By the time they finished at 3pm, 50 items were donated, with Katalina reflecting that the outcome “was better than expected”.
“We had a reach on the local Berwick community that we haven’t gotten before, so it’s very good,” she said.
The charity began raising awareness of the event roughly two days prior, and with the response of the local community, both Charlene and Katalina could not have been happier.
“These coat drives are very important, and it’s one of the reasons APAC was founded, and if you were to think of it in a broader sense, it’s a lot more than just donating a coat,” Katalina said.
While many had known about the coat drive through Facebook groups and the broader social media landscape, many were also on their daily walks and runs, had seen the sign, and decided that their closet had more than it could take.
Even if there were no coats to give, some came to talk about the drive and what APAC stands for, with some leaving monetary donations.
Looking back on the charity’s beginning in November of 2024, both Katalina and Charlene said that they were proud of how things have played out so far.
“It’s expected to be slow, but I think that we’re inspiring our local community, and we’re getting somewhere,” they both said.
