With winter rapidly approaching and the thermometer steadily dropping, the St. Louis U. High campus ministry team once again sponsored the annual Drive for the Homeless, which collects basic necessities for the homeless within the St. Louis region. Starting Wednesday, Oct. 21 and continuing through Friday, Oct. 30, folding tables in Campus Ministry were piled high with coats, blankets, scarves, hats, socks, and other goods to help support the ever important drive.

This year, the drive was spearheaded by Jesuit Scholastic Manuel Luna Vega, S.J, a new face at SLUH. Both Luna Vega and the Junior Pastoral team—who also helped organize the drive—immediately recognized the importance of helping the poor in the St. Louis Area. 

“Now that we are encountering a new change of season, when the weather is getting cooler, there are people that don’t have warm clothes or the necessary things,” said Luna Vega. “That's why it is so important as a Jesuit institution. We need to walk with them and give them what they need.”

From the start, the group had high hopes for the drive, especially after seeing the success of the Food Drive back in September. Wanting to create the same motivation for the Drive for the Homeless, they created a competition between each of the grade levels, where each class earned points for bringing in specific items, like blankets, hand warmers, coats, and toiletries. With over 3,000 points collected in total, the competition was a success.

“We definitely exceeded expectations. Looking at last year, we got more in most areas, mostly toiletries is where we did the best this year,” said Campus Minister Joseph Hill, S.J.

For a majority of the week, the freshman class held the lead in the competition, but with one final surge, the junior class was able to surge ahead in the final day, accumulating a total of 1,011 points to win by a landslide. The freshman class came in second with an impressive 878 points, seniors in third with 548 points and the sophomore class finished last with 478 points. 

“Competition motivates boys to donate; making it a fun game is definitely a good motivator when it comes to the drive,” said Hill.

However, despite the fun and engaging competition, the Drive for the Homeless was meant to do much more than that. In a display of its impressive generosity, even during a pandemic, the SLUH community donated over $1200 and donated over 1,300 items. 

“I am very grateful that even with the competition it is more than that, that it moved the hearts of the parents and students for the homeless. It is not about the rewards, it is about the giving and that is very moving for me,” said Luna Vega.  

Even in these tough circumstances, the SLUH community rallied together to provide for the poorest within the St. Louis community, showing that the Ignatian spirit is still thriving within the halls of SLUH. 

“In my  Jesuit formation so far, I have had many experiences with the poor in very powerful ways,” said Luna Vega. “ Just being here for a couple of weeks, I have experienced this huge sense of generosity within the SLUH community, a generosity that comes from the heart, that shows that they show more by their deeds than their words, and that is a very powerful thing.”