Growing up in South Florida, I’ve never really known what it was like to dress for different seasons, let alone organize your wardrobe for them. Then I moved to Hoboken, NJ. So after my first, long winter season, I decided I was going to reorganize my closet and embark on my first ever Spring cleaning.
A few Florence and the Machine songs later, I found myself with FOUR garbage bags of clothes that I wanted to donate. That’s when I thought, “Wow. What if everyone at Hunter Public Relations did this? I wonder how many bags we can get?”
After some perky conversations and inspiring emails, Hunter PR’s First Annual Spring Cleaning with Meaning was born, thanks to the support of the new Hunter Parks & Recreation grants program to encourage staff camaraderie outside the walls of the office by supporting staff-initiated outings including topical film viewings, volunteer days and adventures through the great city that surrounds us. The idea was to get everyone at Hunter PR to put aside clean, wearable clothes and I would organize a few of us to go around the city and pick them up because who wants to lug around garbage bags of clothes on their way into work. The goal was to donate 20 bags.
Fast forward to Saturday morning, May 21. We need to identify who these folks are. Hunter PR co-workers…. Nick, Rose, Lauren E. and I jump into the Hunter PR van and embark on our mission. We start in Murray Hill, head to the Upper East Side, Hell’s Kitchen and finally, down to Wall Street. It’s a gorgeous morning in the city. Rose is tweeting and taking pictures along the way.
After our last stop, the van is full. So full that we had to go to The Salvation Army’s warehouse in Hell’s Kitchen. We arrive and I happily announce “Hi. We have 26 bags we’d like to donate.” They gladly take us in and we unload the van. As we pull out in an empty van, my heart is filled with joy.
It was an incredible feeling to think of an idea and have it come to fruition. It took an Excel sheet, two All-Staff emails, a Google map print out and a few hours on a Saturday morning to collect 26 bags of clothes to make a difference in countless lives.
Thank you to all of my wonderful colleagues that helped make this program a success. I look forward to next year!
- Ana
