USJ and JCS Students Partner to Collect Coats for Children

In November, the University School of Jackson (USJ) and Jackson Christian School (JCS) encouraged students to bring new coats to keep Madison County children warm during the winter.

University School of Jackson sophomore Ava Jerman started this project in 2018 when Jerman was in sixth grade and noticed that several children on school buses were not wearing coats. After transferring from JCS to USJ in 2022, Jerman sought help from senior Katie Alexander to run the program at JCS in her absence.

“My parents raised me to do good in the world, and this is my way of helping people,” said Jerman. “I pour my heart and soul into planning and preparing every fall; it consumes my whole world. I can’t see myself ever not doing my coat drive. I plan on including more and more private schools in the coat drive in the future. My hope is that by the time I graduate, I will have built a firm foundation for whomever takes it over so my coat drive can help kids and teens after I’m gone.”

Jerman spends several months preparing for each coat drive by developing a marketing plan that includes promoting the event through grassroots efforts on social media and by word of mouth. She is responsible for collecting boxes, sorting inventory by size, and coordinating delivery to Rhonda Heard, the Director of Family and Community Engagement at Jackson Madison County School System. Jerman serves as the primary contact for communication with Heard.

More than 900 coats were collected this year, including 27 from Jerman personally. Organizers were thrilled to see a 50% increase in the number of coats donated in 2023 compared to 2022 and hope to continue to see that trend grow.

Jerman intends to continue coordinating this annual event throughout her remaining years at USJ.