An abundance of coats, blankets, and winter wear were being given away this morning at the Salvation Army at Fourth Avenue and Constitution Street. The distribution will continue until the goods are gone.
The goods came through the efforts of Project Warmth, a drive organized through 96.9 The Wave that eventually involved a total of 31 businesses, schools, and civic organizations, according to organizer Brook Reed of the The Wave radio station.
“We came up with the idea mid-summer and we started working on it from then,” Reed said.
She had hoped the community would contribute about 300 coats; that would have been a success in organizers’ minds.
Instead, at the end of the pickup route, sponsors found that the drive had brought in more than three times that amount.
“The Waters True Value truck that (Waters manager) Mark Shook drove around for us all day was packed to the ceiling,” Reed said. “It was incredible. The response from the community was just overwhelming. It’s wonderful to be in a community that is so giving.”
Capt. Hope Burris of the Salvation Army estimated that the drive brought in about 1,000 coats.
“So now we’ve got oodles and oodles of coats and blankets to give out to the needy people,” Burris said.
Volunteers helped sort out the clothing into sizes and genders. The result was 12 to 15 tables full of coats, blankets and other warm clothing.
“We had a very good assortment of all sizes, boys, girls, adults, children ... hats, coats, gloves, scarves. It covered the whole gamut,” Reed said. “There were even snowsuits for children. It was just amazing.”
All of the merchandise collected during the drive will be given away at no charge, rather than sold through the Salvation Army’s Thrift Store.
Reed said that Project Warmth is set to become an annual event.
The project was one of two that went on within approximately the same time frame. The Flinthills Mall also sponsored a coat drive and donated approximately 500 coats to Plumb Place, the Emporia Rescue Mission and TFI Family Services.