Ahead of last weekend’s snowstorm, Azariah Giddings ’27 worked alongside Arcadia’s Belonging and Flourishing Council to help provide the Arcadia community with winter necessities. The Healthcare Administration major supported the Winter Coat and Essentials Drive, which ran from Jan. 19-25, by creating promotional materials before quickly organizing all of the donations to be ready for those in need before the storm.

“There was a lot of stuff donated during the week, and we saw that the snowstorm was coming, so we had to get organized quickly,” Giddings said. “Students could come directly to Public Safety, because they’re open 24/7, and just grab stuff if they really need it. We had a lot of hats, coats, gloves, socks, and even hoodies and sweatpants.”

The Pemberton, N.J. native was able to see the impact of this initiative almost immediately.

“Especially on Friday, I saw some people walking around with a whole bunch of stuff [from the drive], which I liked,” she explained. “I stopped in [to Public Safety] at the beginning of this week, and a lot of stuff had gone, so we definitely got the majority of it out.”

While working at the front desk in the Campus Life suite, Giddings connected with Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students Dr. Donavan McCargo, who invited her to help the Belonging and Flourishing Council with this project.

“When they told me I could be a part of it, I was super excited,” she said. “It was similar to something I’d done in high school. I did a women’s drive where we provided a whole bunch of feminine products and stuff for babies to a domestic violence shelter. I really just enjoyed it, and that’s something I wanted to do again.”

This was the first time Giddings had worked with the Belonging and Flourishing Council, and she saw the value of the organization right away.

“I think this is really important for Arcadia. A lot of schools don’t really think about how people are at home and what things they need, and what can really make their experience better,” she explained. “So I feel like this was, like, a great opportunity to see how much the staff and facilities care about our students here, because they’re thinking of the little things like, ‘Does everybody have a coat?’ ‘Does everybody have gloves?’ I feel like this is really important just for people’s safety and health in general.”

In addition to her role with Campus Life support with Belonging and Flourishing, Giddings plays center-back for the women’s soccer team, and is a member of the Black Awareness Society. This experience with Campus Life and the Belonging and Flourishing Council has proven invaluable to her experience as a student at Arcadia.

“This taught me that sometimes people are in desperate situations and you really need to help them figure out what they need at that moment,” she said. “Some people just need to be able to talk to someone, and that’s definitely a skill I learned, and one I’ll need in my future.”