Behind a door down the main hallway of Buchanan Middle School sits a pile of coats waiting to keep people warm as the weather turns.

The coats are being temporarily stored in Buchanan Middle School as the student government is currently collecting used coats for its annual Bundle Up Buchanan coat drive.

For the drive, the school is asking that people drop off their used coats, gloves, scarves and other winter essentials at bins located at every Buchanan school until Nov. 17. The items collected will be donated to Redbud Area Ministries and local families to be distributed for free to those in need. Distribution days will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 18 -19.

“We started this in 2007 as part of a social studies volunteer project,” said Jim Bohman who originated the project before retiring from Buchanan schools in 2012.

Originally, the Bundle Up Buchanan project partnered with a cleaning service in South Bend to donate the coats. Once that cleaning service closed, the project began partnering with Redbud Area Ministries. In the first year, the school collected 170 coats to give away to area families. In the years since, people have donated more than 300 coats and related winter items each year.

“The philosophy has always been that people get to come and take whatever they needed,” Bohman said. “If you needed one coat, you took one coat. If you needed four coats, you took four coats.”

Bohman said that both the community members who give who coats and the children that collect them have embraced the project and work together to care for those in Buchanan who are in need.

“It’s really just a great feeling to see this happen,” Bohman said. “It’s great to know that both the kids and the community care.”

Seventh graders Kayla Baich and Olivia Paturalski are involved in the student government and helped organize this year’s Bundle Up Buchanan coat drive. Both said they enjoyed participating and that they want to help out community any way they can.

“There are a lot out there who can’t afford coats in the winter months, but need them,” Paturalski said. “We want to help people keep warm even if they don’t have the money to buy coats and blankets and sweatshirts.”

The two students want to encourage the community to participate in the drive by going through their belongings and donating a few items they no longer see use.

“Even I have stuff that I don’t wear anymore to donate,” Baich said. “If you have something to give, we will pick them up and take them [Redbud Area Ministries].”

Giving is something everyone should be doing if they are able, the pair of 12 year olds said.

“It’s the right thing to do, and if us [volunteering] now is teaching us so much for the future,” Paturalski said. “Just think, if you saw someone our age walking around in a coat you donated, you would feel great knowing that you kept them warm and got them something they needed.”