A group of student leaders from Chief Moses Middle School blew away their local competition during the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Program’s annual long-sleeved shirt drive, collecting 180 shirts for farmworkers who regularly work exposed to sun and pesticides.

In cooperation with AFOP, the non-profit Opportunities Industrialization Center of Washington challenged groups in the community to see who couuld donate the most during the last week of March. After the shirts are collected, OIC of Washington distributes them directly to farmworker communities.

“Our goal is to increase the awareness, minimize the exposure to pesticides and to provide farmworkers with the most effective and easily accessible means of protection,” said Rafelita Tijerina, regional manager at OIC of Washington. “By (farmworkers) just simply covering their arms, they reduce contact with pesticide residue.”

Farmworkers, particularly migrant workers, often lack the funds to pay for protective gear as basic as a long-sleeved shirt, which they are expected to provide for themselves, Tijerina said. Without protection, workers can suffer from heat stress or toxic effects from pesticides as workers are sprayed or as they handle sprayed plants.

The leadership team from Chief Moses Middle School, with members from each grade, singlehandedly collected more than the community-wide goal of 125 shirts.

“The kids just think it’s the greatest because it’s for a good cause,” Tijerina said. “Any way they can help their community, those kids will take on the challenge.”

Volunteers also came from Big Bend Community College, Moses Lake Community Health Center, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and the Calico Cat Thrift store. In total, 368 shirts were collected across the region and distributed by OIC of Washington, almost three times the original goal.

“It was more than we’ve ever seen in this office, though every year is a success.” Tijerina said.

AFOP’s shirt drive, a national event, was made up of similar regional collections. All in all, volunteers collected more than 13,000 shirts from communities across the country.