Shivering with no jackets, and some with bare chests, a group of Alpha Tau Omegas braved the sunny, but freezing, 40-degree weather earlier this week for charity.

The students huddled on the front lawn of Rogers Hall, working in shifts to make sure no one stayed in the cold for too long.

Holding signs with phrases like “Don’t let me freeze!” and “Cold for Coats,” the men had one goal: to collect coats and jackets for those less fortunate.

“The wind makes it colder, but it’s not too bad,” said sophomore Seth Taylor.

“Cold for Coats” was started in 2011 when the Theta Eta chapter of ATO was brainstorming for a social service project to complete.

“We were sitting in chapter one night trying to think of something we could do,” said senior Jacob Winkles. “We try to do one social service project a month, and the guy that was the chair at the time came up with the idea.

“It was cold, so we thought we could just collect jackets for the homeless people in the Shoals.”

More than 6,000 Alabama residents reported being homeless in 2010, the most recent year statistics available, according to statehealthfacts.org.

This is the second year the event has taken place, and the members said they hope to continue it in the future.

“I’ve done a lot of social service events since I began ATO, but this is definitely the coldest one,” said freshman Connor Gray.

Members said that even though all of the brothers couldn’t be there to help run the event, it was truly a group effort to make sure the drive ran smoothly.

“It takes everyone,” Winkles said.

Their charity was not missed by strangers, as members witnessed many individuals donating jackets, some of them donating the very coat they were wearing. The UNA bookstore donated blankets, too, Taylor said.

“The bookstore donated 40 blankets, and we probably have collected about 30 or 40 jackets since we set up this morning (Tuesday),” Taylor said.

While the members received several donations Tuesday, they said they were hopeful that Wednesday, the second day, would bring many more.

“A lot of people are stopping to ask how long we’ll be out here for,” Taylor said. “They want to bring things by on Wednesday for us.”

The brothers said all of the donated items will be given to the Salvation Army and a local Presbyterian church.

“It’s really all for charity,” Taylor said. “That’s why we stand out here and do this.”