One of the best things about the NW community is how open it is to serving others, and how campus can put its best foot forward to help others who are in need. Students are invited to help serve others in meals, times of worship, service trips, and more. Recently, a new faculty member on campus has started a way for students to help others during these next few cold months.
Marissa Leraas is one of the newest NW faculty members, working in the theatre department, graduate program and honors program. She has started a coat drive, where she is collecting coats for those who are in need and who cannot afford them. As someone who wants to help the culture of overconsumption, Leraas believes that this coat drive is a way to flip the issue on its head.
These coats will be taken to the Warming Shelter in Sioux City. This shelter is a nonprofit organization dedicated to offering low-barrier shelter and compassionate support to homelessness in Siouxland. Their motto is “Save Lives, Give Hope and Rise Up”. The shelter meets people where they are and provides care to each person who needs it and prioritizes safety. They are rooted in trauma-informed principles and center their approach on nurturing essential needs: Physiological well-being, safety, esteem, connection and self-affirmation. The goal is to help every person move forward and stay on track with their lives. Aside from accepting donations, the Warming Shelter also has opportunities to help serve people in the area and are always looking for supplies, such as hygiene items, bedding, and non-perishable food in addition to warm clothing.
Leraas has placed boxes in the Theatre and in Ramaker Center for students to drop off coats. This can be a coat that students are wanting to get rid of, or one that has been newly thrifted in order to contribute to the coat drive. Leraas would like people to spread the word, as there are never enough people that can help.
Leraas started this coat drive to get rid of her own old coats and have them go somewhere meaningful.
“I worked at a homeless resource center in Dallas, TX for a week this last summer, and it really softened my heart to the needs of the homeless population.” Leraas said “I am someone who is always cold, and I know I love it when I can bundle up in all of my jackets and flip on a space heater. It breaks my heart to think that some people don’t have that – especially with how cold it gets here in Northwest Iowa.”
Leraas has provided a chance for students to help another community in such a simple yet amazing way. In 2025, Sioux City’s Point-in-Time Count found a significant increase in unsheltered homeless individuals, and the number of sheltered homeless people decreased only slightly. The city has received over $500,000 in grants to address homelessness and is working on helping individuals find housing. There are also programs that are being put into place to help remove legal barriers to housing and employment. Organizations like the City of Sioux City’s Community Assistance provide outreach, case management and essential items to help newly housed individuals succeed. This is a slow process, but as Northwest IA starts to dip into the colder months, providing coats for people who have no place to go will help significantly.
These coats can be of all different kinds. If it is warm and in good condition, they will take it. This coat drive runs until Thursday, November 13th. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact Leraas at marissa.leraas@nwciowa.edu.
