(SOUTH ORANGE, NJ) -- WSOU 89.5 FM, the student-run radio station at Seton Hall University, set a new record for donations to its annual clothing drive for the Our Lady of the Sioux Church on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The station collected enough clothing to fill 25 large boxes with clothes, footwear, and accessories for all ages and all seasons.

The donations, which were brought to the station by current as well as past students, were folded and packed at the radio station. The students that packed followed station-implemented safety measures in place due to the COVID-19 Pandemic to ensure that staff members could safely give back to the community.

The clothing will benefit members of the Oglala Lakota community, as well as others on the reservation. Sister Barbara Bogenschutz, the church’s parish life coordinator, will facilitate distribution when the clothing arrives. WSOU’s relationship with the Our Lady of the Sioux Catholic Church began in 2014, after a station staff member participated in a university-organized mission trip to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.  Seeing a basic necessity that the station could provide, the student suggested that some WSOU T-shirts be donated to the church for distribution to those in need.  Since then, the amount and variety of clothing collected by students has grown steadily. 

“I am beyond proud of the way that our staff members, alumni, and university community came together for this effort.” said WSOU Staff Representative Dalton Allison, who helped spearhead the effort. “With all of the negative things happening in the world this year, it just goes to show that human compassion triumphs over everything else.”

WSOU’s clothing drive for the Our Lady of the Sioux Church is normally held in the spring. The closure of campus in mid-March and state COVID-19 restrictions and policies delayed this year’s drive until the fall semester. The student leadership at the station never considered canceling this annual event and focused on finding ways to collect clothing safely as soon as conditions in New Jersey made conducting the drive possible.

“The success of this year’s clothing drive in the midst of a pandemic speaks to the dedication of WSOU’s students to community service,” said WSOU General Manager Mark Maben. “Our students know that helping others is at the core of radio’s decades-long tradition of giving back to the community and they work hard to meet the obligations that come with being a licensed broadcaster. To set a new record in times like these demonstrates that Seton Hall is not only developing terrific broadcasters, we are also developing servant leaders and engaged, compassionate citizens.”

WSOU 89.5 FM, which began broadcasting in 1948, is the student-run radio station of Seton Hall University.  Celebrated for its loud rock format and coverage of Seton Hall athletics, WSOU’s signal reaches all five boroughs of New York City and much of northern and central New Jersey and is available on iHeartRadio. WSOU was the 2016 winner of the National Broadcasters Association’s Marconi Award for Noncommercial Station of the Year and a 2019 nominee for the Marconi Award for Best College Radio Station.