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Peirce Students Brave Cold to Collect Winter Gear in Honor of MLK

By Josh McGhee | January 19, 2016 9:47am
 The idea for a winter clothing drive came to 7-year-old Luca Sunday afternoon after reading about King and his work.
The idea for a winter clothing drive came to 7-year-old Luca Sunday afternoon after reading about King and his work.
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DNAinfo/Josh McGhee

ANDERSONVILLE — A group of students from Peirce School of International Studies spent their Martin Luther King Day braving the cold weather collecting winter wear for the less fortunate to honor King's legacy.

The idea came to 7-year-old Luca DeSanto Sunday afternoon after reading about King and his work.

"Well, we should do something" to honor King, Luca said to his mother after learning he would be off school Monday. "We could collect coats from our neighbors."

So his mother, Emily DeSanto, invited some of Luca's friends from school and the neighborhood to help out. About 20 of his friends showed up Monday and helped him go door-to-door throughout their neighborhood asking for winter donations.

There were so many kids helping they were able to split the groups up and tackle more blocks than they expected. After about two hours in the single-degree temperatures, they finished with a couple trunks' full of clothes and promises for more, they said.

"It felt pretty good getting a lot of bags," Luca said, adding he was inspired by how King "fought for Civil Rights. It's even better because we're honoring him."

"I thought it was nice to help other people warm up during the winter. And I felt good that I did it," said 5-year-old Gaby Garcia. Luca wasn't the only one who received a warm feeling in his heart from helping the less fortunate.

Seven-year-old Jamie Nolan agreed adding the brutal cold was an inspiration, instead of a deterrent.

"It made me feel good to help people that didn't have warm things for the winter. I think it's nice to help people who need things they don't have," Jamie said. "It was pretty cold, but the [less fortunate] people would've been colder than we were."

[DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]

After collecting the coats, Ranalli's of Andersonville, at 1512 W. Berwyn Ave., treated the children to a pizza party. All clothes collected will be taken to Care for Real in Edgewater.

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