Cody Petrosino helped keep Woolwich residents a bit warmer this winter.
The Wilfrid Laurier University student marked a decade of his Panther Winter Warmth drive last month, collecting roughly a dozen bags of clothing and toys for Woolwich Community Services.
He originally began collecting clothing when he was a student at St. Boniface Catholic Elementary School in Maryhill, before expanding it to St. David Catholic Secondary School, and eventually all the feeder schools to that high school.
“I always feel like there’s always a need to give back to the community and try to make a difference and the real reason why I started the program and wanted to continue it was I remembered all the good things I’ve seen come out of it,” Petrosino said.
Inspired by his preschool teacher, Susan O’Toole, he started gathering clothing for people in need when she wasn’t able to collect enough to help out a family she’d been supporting. He collected clothing, brought it to her, and she’d distribute it to families in Woolwich.
“I know Susan, way back when, she had a family come in and there was a little girl, I think she was seven years old, that got her first pair of boots and snow pants and gloves, so that she could go out and play in the snow. After seeing that I knew that even though I don’t see that firsthand, that was happening again and again and again as I ran the program,” Petrosino recalls.
When she retired and couldn’t continue the clothing drive he took over and started choosing different community groups each year to help out, like Ray of Hope and Anselma House. He’d collect whatever they needed most.
“So for Ray of Hope they really needed dress-type clothing, winter dress clothing, just for families or individuals that are trying to get back into the workforce. So individuals that had some rough times we’d get them a full suit, and then they’d be able to go and apply for jobs and do different things that way,” Petrosino said.
The donation to Anselma House came out of a friendship he made with a teacher at St. David. She’d used their services and said she’d love to give back some way. Petrosino collected lots of clothing, especially women’s and children’s for the women’s shelter and donated it in her name.
On that same year St. Louis Church said they needed male or unisex gloves, hats, and scarves. So they collected those, along with sheets for a local Out of the Cold program through the St. Vincent de Paul Society. When he was still at St. David school two years ago they filled their library pit with clothing, accumulating 250 items of clothing.
“The past two years now that I’m at university I’ve been trying to apply the program here or to start some type of initiative. It expanded to having St. David, my original elementary school being St. Boniface in Maryhill, where the program started and then expanded to not just St. Boniface and St. David but all the other nine elementary schools, their feeder schools for St. David’s,” Petrosino said.
The program continues at St. Boniface under the Winter Warmth Program, but Petrosino has shrunk it back so that the other schools have started their own initiatives including food and clothing drives.
“It doesn’t matter what the program’s called, as long as they’re actually doing something to give back,” Petrosino said.
He was inspired to donate to WCS this time around after reading about how families moving to the region from other countries were having trouble learning English, supporting themselves, and needed basic necessities like clothes. He contacted a Mennonite church in St. Jacobs that runs a program to support those families, who he’d donated to before, but they’d already wrapped it up for the year.
“This year we had some toys, a lot of child clothing, both male and female, all ages, so I decided it would be a good idea to give it to them. They said we’re in partnership with Woolwich Community Services, why don’t you go and bring it there?” Petrosino said.
He hopes to continue his community work at Laurier, but he’s still deciding what avenue to take, while overseeing the clothing drive at St. Boniface.
“My big thing I want to get across with this program is it’s not what you do, it’s what you do for others. What I want to be clear is the recognition is not to get me recognition, is not to get anyone recognition. It’s more or less doing it out of the goodness of your heart. It’s being able to make that difference. It’s also being able to inspire others,” Petrosino said.
