Glenelg High School senior Angela Lanuza says she has wanted to help the homeless ever since she was in middle school.

When she was a student at St. Louis Catholic Christian School in Clarksville working on a project to feed lunches to homeless men and women, Lanuza recalled being "shocked to see how many people there were on the streets."

So with a winter storm forecast for Dec. 15, Lanuza, her boyfriend and her family distributed more than 1,000 pieces of winter clothing to homeless people at a Baltimore park and to homeless shelters in Baltimore and Ellicott City.

Lanuza had originally planned to bring all the clothes to homeless shelters, but with the prospects for snow, she decided to deliver some of the clothing to families who were still living on the street, she said.

Although the winter storm never came, she said those who received the coats, hats and gloves seemed to appreciate the effort.

"They were so grateful. The people outside were already very cold," said Lanuza, who was helped by father; Jeff Lanuza; mother, Susie Lanuza; sister, Francesca Lanuza; and boyfriend, Charlie Bosse.

The drive to collect the clothing began a year earlier, during a brainstorming session for a community service project run by her high school's business club.

Evelyn Bradley, the club's staff advisor, said the project was originally intended to collect winter clothes for the homeless last year, but the group was not able to collect very much clothing to distribute.

However, Lanuza was undeterred and continued the drive on her own, Bradley said.

She posted fliers in school hallways and made sure the school's morning announcements included information about how to donate. She collected donations from area businesses, and the Ellicott City Wal-Mart store gave her a 10-percent discount on winter clothing she bought there after Lanuza told them of her plan.

Bradley said it was the most ambitious project she had seen a single student undertake.

"It was 100 percent a success," she said. "She pursued a community need, and stepped up and followed through."

Lanuza said she was happy to undertake the task, which she named Project Global Warming.

"Once I started, I couldn't stop because I knew what a difference it would make," she said.

Susie Lanuza said Angela has always wanted to help others in need.

"She has such a giving heart," she said. "We are really proud."

Jennifer Broadwater contributed to this article.

E-mail Nate Sandstrom at Nate Sandstrom@patuxent.com