Way to Go: Jace DeMarco of Kings Park

A Kings Park High School student helped spread warmth this winter by placing bags of clothing in train stations, at bus stops and at other locations.

Jace DeMarco, a junior, filled about 400 large plastic bags with clothing he collected through donation boxes at his school and at Fort Salonga Elementary School and Professor’s Diner in Kings Park. The clothing included new and gently used hats, scarves, gloves, mittens and earmuffs.

DeMarco, 16, said he got the idea after learning that scarves were being tied around utility poles in Manhattan. He named his project “Warming Souls” because his mother Carolynne said the idea “absolutely warms my soul.”

“I learned you don’t have to have a lot of money to do something great,” said DeMarco, noting that each bag included the following poem: “If you find yourself in need of some warmth this season, please know there is someone who doesn’t want you freezin’.”

The clothing collection ran from January through early March, with DeMarco and his mother placing 173 of the bags in public locations across Long Island. The remaining bags were given to agencies and churches for distribution to those in need.

DeMarco is an officer in his school’s Leadership Club and is in the chamber singers ensemble, the orchestra and the National Honor Society.

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.