MOORPARK : Club to Ship Clothes to Sioux Reservation

Passing on a little Christmas warmth, members of the Moorpark Boys & Girls Club plan to send winter coats, hats and sweaters to a sister club at the Oglala Sioux Reservation in Pine Ridge, S.D.

The idea popped up while the youths were studying poverty in America, and club director Toni Carbone-Sarcenilla told them about the hardships faced on Native American reservations throughout the West.

The youths learned that the Pine Ridge Boys & Girls Club was without heat this winter, while temperatures were dropping below freezing.

“That’s really cold,” said 8-year-old Heather Yaller, who with a handful of other youths decided to ship the clothing to club members. Only about 40 coats have been collected so far, but the club has received a steady stream of phone calls from people interested in donating more. This week, an Ojai woman dropped off about 30 wool caps that she made, and a local business volunteered to ship the gifts for free.

When the coats, hats and sweaters arrive in Pine Ridge, the youths from that Boys & Girls Club will distribute them to needy members of the community, Carbone-Sarcenilla said.

“So it’s a way for both clubs to set up a community service project,” she said.

Poring over a recent article in Time magazine about the reservation, Heather, Amanda Adams, 9, Brandon Wilson, 10, Morgan McCoy, 8, and Amanda Smith, 15, seemed stunned by the pictures of abject poverty on the reservation.

“Sometimes I think I’m poor,” Amanda Smith said. “But at least I’ve got a coat and I’ve never even been to the snow before.”

Donations of used coats, sweaters and other winter clothing can be dropped off at the Boys & Girls Club at 280 Casey Road, Moorpark. The clothing should be in good condition and clean. For more information, call 530-1552.