Local restaurant hosts holiday winter clothing drive

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – La Luna Eatery and Events normally deliverers hundreds of hot Christmas meals to the homeless every year, but this year they’re jazzing it up. 

It’s the music that’s making people sway at La Luna Eatery and Events, but this concert is more than what meets the eye.  

“I was just thinking about a way how can I impact my community meaningful as an artist, I feel like I kind of have an influence in the city, so I can use my voice to actually do something,” said Rylan Durham, a local musician. 

So he called in the help of some friends to help make a difference in the community.

“Rylan one of our musicians that has performed in our building in the past had an idea to gather hoodies and essentials, and host a concert to the public,” said Maria Valdez, co-owner of La Luna Eatery and Events. 

The music draws in the crowd, and the hope is that they’ll leave a gift behind.

“We have so many things that we don’t use that are just sitting up in the closet that somebody could be staying warm with,” said Dezmin Anderson, with the Outreach Services of America. 

Jackets, coats, gloves – anything to help the homeless get through the winter.

“Essential packs like tooth brushes, shavers, there’s socks and then there is a little thermal blanket and some hygiene products as well,” aid Valdez.

“A little time out of your day can make someone’s winter season a lot easier,” said Anderson. 

Because isn’t that what the holidays are all about?

“That the whole kind of point of the holiday is to put a piece of yourself into the world. What can you do for the world we live in? How can we make this a place we want to be?” Durham said. 

On Christmas Day, organizers are teaming up with “A Light in the Night Community Outreach” to distribute the items they collected to the homeless population. There will be food, and even government tablets equipped with five years of internet on them as a Christmas gift.