By Michael Kennedy

The Student Government Association has turned its attention to the less fortunate in our community with one of their new executive agencies. Wrap Up Louisville is designed to collect blankets for the homeless in Louisville.

SGA President Brian Hoffman was looking for a “student-run service project that would involve a lot of students” when SGA Director of Signature Programs Trevor Joelson approached him with the idea.

The idea was fashioned after a program created by his father, Harlan Joelson, which he subsequently named the Wrap Up Toledo campaign.

Since its inception in 1993, Wrap Up Toledo has consistently gained momentum, now collecting over 2,000 blankets annually.

Many schools, churches and local businesses collect blankets to give to the effort.

Similarly, the Wrap Up Louisville team is looking for area businesses and schools to help them collect, in addition to on-campus RSOs. Several Greek organizations have committed to the project, along with Male High School.

Hoffman hopes that it will grow into a yearly tradition

“I think it’s a really good idea,” Duane Fields, freshman finance major, said. “It’s good to give back to the community.”

Harlan Joelson said the project doesn’t only help the homeless, but also the volunteers who look around and see how fortunate they are.

Nick Mader, a member of the Wrap Up Louisville team explains his motivation. “I ride the Fourth Street bus everyday and I see the need for blankets.” He said that it is easy for businesses to collect blankets because “all they need is a box.”

In 2005, 11,251 people used Louisville homeless services; 1,401 were children. Many of these people slept on streets where the average low in January is 25 degrees. Any bit of protection from the cold helps to protect from frostbite, hypothermia and other cold-related injuries.

In 2006, the number of the homeless decreased, dropping to 10,933. Of those, 1,616 were children, 652 of which were unaccompanied youths.

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, in a given year, 3.5 million people are likely to experience being without a home, with 1.35 million being children.

Student organizations willing to help are encouraged to contact SGA for more information. E-mail them at wrapup@louisville.edu.