McLean Students Donate Coats, Backpacks To Local Nonprofits

MCLEAN, VA — Last week, students in the French, Spanish and Chinese Honors Societies at BASIS Independent McLean dropped off around 50 items at the Lamb Center in Fairfax City and Women Giving Back in Sterling.

The McLean private school students collected the items during a coat and backpack drive in October.

“We organized the collective effort among the national language honor societies to gather winter coats for donation, because no one in our local community should lose their life to the cold,” said senior Aaryasinh Vaghe. “With over 700 homeless people passing away from hypothermia annually in the US, this drive was about meeting the basic human need for those who are homeless.”

The Lamb Center is a homeless day shelter in the City of Fairfax, which serves people experiencing homelessness from across the county. Located in Sterling, Women Giving Back supports women and children in crisis with free clothing.

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BASIS Independent McLean was recently recognized as the number one high school in Virginia for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning in the 2026 Niche Best Schools Rankings.