The University of Kentucky Student Government Association hosted the annual “Coats for Cats” event, where students can get free coats, hats and gloves to prepare for the winter season.

The event was held on Nov. 13 in the Gatton Student Center. Gabi Franzone, the executive director of event management for the Student Government Association (SGA), organized the event for students this year. 

Beginning in 2021, SGA wanted to start the cause for students who may not have what they need for cold weather, especially for students who may be low on money or who are not used to Kentucky’s climate.

“I think it’s important for students who are maybe coming from a place that isn’t as cold as here. Maybe, they don’t have a winter coat,” Franzone said. “Just making sure students are warm and prepared to go to class in all weather… just making sure students feel supported and important.”

The event had over 350 coats for students. Franzone said that they hold the event right before Thanksgiving so they can pass out the coats before the weather gets cold.

“It’s just important because it’s not everybody that can have access to it (a coat), so this is a good way to supplement it for students, for them to have extra for some students who don’t have it at all,” student Ana said. Ana asked for her last name to be omitted.

A student and refugee from Afghanistan, who wished to be referred to only as “T,” said having events like this on campus eases some of her stress.

“I am a refugee here, and being a refugee and a student is so hard, so it helps me to at least save some money and also help my family who was left in Afghanistan,” she said. “It (‘Coats for Cats’) can help a lot.”

Franzone said according to the SGA constitution, they do “Coats for Cats” every year for students, along with money set aside specifically for winter garments such as coats, hats and gloves, according to Franzone.

In the future, SGA hopes to expand its outreach to more students. They hope to provide more access for students who may need resources like “Coats for Cats” on campus by connecting with other colleges and organizations.

“Something that’s really important about initiatives like this is making sure the proper people know about it and can put it out to students,” said Franzone. “So whether that’s advisors or certain colleges, making sure SGA has partnerships with people that can tell students about it, because I think that’s just a larger kind of theme with SGA is we do a lot of things like this, but we have to make sure students know about it, or it’s not effective.”