Gerry Fitzgerald, of Shepherdstown, places a bag filled with new winter clothing in the donation area at Maria's Taqueria on Nov. 12. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — “I’m dropping off a bag of winter clothing. My wife and I often participate in events like this,” said Gerry Fitzgerald, of Shepherdstown.

He and his wife, Louise, are members of Indivisible — one of the two organizations that hosted the winter clothing donation drive at Maria’s Taqueria on Nov. 12.

“We saw it advertised in the newspaper. Everybody is suffering under the changes made by this administration, and so we wanted to do the little bit that we could to help alleviate that suffering,” Louise said.

Their donation included a new child’s coat, along with hats, gloves and a scarf.

“Neighbors are supposed to look after their neighbors. It’s essential,” Louise said. “You can’t rely on the government to do what they say that they do.”

Shepherdstown resident Susan Loonsk drops off a bag of winter clothing by the front window of Maria's Taqueria on Nov. 12. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

Her sentiments were echoed by fellow Shepherdstown resident Susan Loonsk, as she placed a bag full of lightly used coats on the top of the donation pile.

“The weather this week was really cold, and so, when I saw the advertisement that this was taking place, I thought it would be a nice thing to participate in. With it being a local initiative, I knew the donations would be used to directly benefit local people in need,” Loonsk, who is also a member of Indivisible, said. “People need help. I’m fortunate that I don’t need that kind of help at the moment. It makes me all the more glad to be able to give back in this way.”

All of the donations from the winter clothing drive were being given to Jefferson County Community Ministries’s clothing closet. Donations from a food drive held by Indivisible the following day, in front of McMurran Hall, were given to another community nonprofit, Shepherdstown Shares.

“On the outside, people often don’t realize how deeply we have committed ourselves to our community,” said Indivisible Jefferson County WV chapter leader Susan Pipes, noting the nonprofit organization is just as invested in its community service efforts as it is in political activism work. “We find it is just as important, if not more important, to uplift everyone through efforts like this. “Our focus is on being good neighbors — we’re not always about trying to stand against something or demand some action be taken.”

This drive was unique from all of the ones Indivisible has held to-date, as it marked the first collaboration between Indivisble and the Boots on the Ground Youth Leadership Academy, which works to empower and educate students in the Eastern Panhandle.

“We are so excited that we get to do this,” Pipes said. “We’re trying to establish working relationships with other groups, and this one is so important. We want to have more young people involved in our group, and this will hopefully build the bridge toward that happening.”

Boots on the Ground Youth Leadership Academy founder Teresa Holmes said she anticipated this being the start of a mutually beneficial relationship. Already, her students had used the drive as a why to exercise the lessons they had learned from Holmes in how to lead by example. Many of them searched for items in their own closets to donate, before soliciting further donations from their peers.

“People are experiencing a lot of financial hardship right now. Our youth were excited to be asked to join this collaboration. They were excited to realize that there really is something they can do about the situation. We did not have one person who was not excited about getting involved,” Holmes said. “We hope that the youth learn from this, not just the power of collaboration, but the power of giving back.

“Both of our organizations are community-oriented. It is true that the more we collaborate, the more we can achieve for our community,” Holmes said.