As Tuesday's highs hovered in the mid-teens, nonprofits scrambled to get proper winter gear to Onondaga County residents who are in jeopardy of freezing.
United Way of Syracuse hosted its 24th annual MLK Day of Service the day before where they collected thousands of winter items donated by residents and businesses.
About 2,000 volunteers from across Onondaga County spent their Monday off at Nottingham High School to be of service.
Ten-year-old Kanari Burgess folded jackets and sweaters in neat piles along rows and rows of folding tables in the middle of the high school gym. Seventeen-year-old Dakota Jamison and 15-year-old Elizabeth Hughes, worked alongside her, like clockwork, to quickly prop up sheets of cardboard as it morphed into stackable boxes.
"Personally, I feel very fulfilled," Jamison said. "I feel like I'm really happy giving back to the community and it makes me really happy."
For every kid, there were five adults processing the donations of new coats, mittens, socks, hats, sweaters, scarves and gloves.
"It's going to be really, really cold," Katie Hanlon, the Chief Community Officer at United Way of Central New York said. "And if people don't have the proper attire, it's even worse."
Hanlon and Mark Spadafor with the Greater Syracuse Labor Council know time is of the essence.
"We have drivers that are going out and delivering to about 25 different agencies in the area," Spadafor said. "And the agencies who deal with populations that are very afraid right now, they'll know how to do that."
The Housing and Homeless Coalition of Central New York estimated more than 350 families in Syracuse are without housing. As temperatures hovered in the teens to single digits during the week, they would need the help.
Once each box was tidily taped, another volunteer sealed it with the official MLK Day of Service sticker, the final touch indicating warmth is ready to send. And, when the last volunteer turned off the gymnasium lights, 5,000 winter items were on trucks heading to neighbors in need.
"This is really a reflection of the Central New York community," Spadafor said. "That we come together, regardless of what's happening on a national or state level, we care for each other, and we help each other out."
