Do you have some old coats just taking up space?

[DURHAM D]

I am retired and so I do a lot of volunteer stuff. None of our local organizations have enough winter coats, particularly for men.

I live in a fairly small town and we have a soup kitchen with a closet, the high school has a closet, the local Methodist churches have a store opened three days a week, two churches have closets within their churches, and a county agency has a closet. They are all out of men's coats.

Too be honest they just don't receive that many donations of men's coats, shoes and casual clothing.

They are also short on women's and children's coats.

Also, they really need blankets.

Last week I mentioned to my hair dresser that everyone was out of men's coats and shoes. The next day she called me and I went by her shop and she give me several bags of her husband's coats and shoes. There were 7 pairs of boots and 9 coats in the bags. I took them to the Methodist church store. I was in there today and every single coat had been sold and all but one pair of boots.

Pretty much no one takes donations to the Salvation Army or Goodwill because there are better places to take donations and all the entities mentioned above either give the items away or charge a dollar or two for coats and shoes.

So, please ask around and find your local closet, soup kitchen or store and donate your extra coats, etc.

Thanks.

Please consider this your Winter Public Service Announcement

[Warpy]

1. Happy first rec

I do have the fur coats my mother left me but she'd haunt me if I took them to the thrift shop. I'll wrap myself in one when it's below zero around here and the 1946 floor furnace can't cope, but they're unpleasantly heavy and I much prefer the fake fur coat I made myself 30 years ago.

I gave the heavy and expensive Thinsulate coats I used to wear in the worst weather Boston could throw at me to thrift shops years ago. I hope someone else got some good use out of them. I usually get by in NM in cotton coats, finding a dry cold easier to take than the damp cold back in New England.

[eleny]

16. I worried about my mom haunting me, too, until I learned about Coats For Cubs

After I donated them I never looked back or worried if I betrayed mom. I felt really good about it imagining furry orphaned little ones finding real comfort in pieces of mom's coats because they reminded them of their own mothers.

There's a link on the home page here to find donation locations if you become interested. Mine was a store in Denver so it was pretty convenient.

[flvegan]

2. I understand socks to be quite the commodity as well.

Either way, donate what you got to donate!

4th rec of what I hope is 10x that.

[No Vested Interest]

21. Gloves and knit caps (ski caps) are also much appreciated. nt

[blue neen]

3. Thank you.

[mopinko]

5. i have a friend who makes up packets.

a ziploc full of stuff. a pair of socks, a food gift card, one of those chemical hand warmers, a few wet wipes, a candy bar.
he does coats and blankets, too. gonna clean out a closet for him tomorrow.

plenty of opportunities to do this one on one in chicago, sadly.

here's another one a lot of people dont think about-
homeless women have a yawning need for sanitary products. one suggestion is if you have old purses, or can grab some at the thrift shop, fill them up w sanitary products, some motrin, wet wipes, etc.

[DURHAM D]

9. Good for you.

If you look around you can always find a way to help.

Your suggestion about sanitary products is excellent. They are very expensive and some of the agencies that usually help women have had their funds cut and their priorities changed. I can not imagine what it would be like to try and decide between feeding your child or buying sanitary products so you can go to work.

There is even an organization here that is making diapers and sanitary napkins from old cotton t-shirts. Previously they were shipped out of the country but the churches that paid the freight have fewer financial resources so what was once considered a third world solution is now being utilized in this country.

Thanks for your comments.

[pinboy3niner]

7. A 9-year-old kid kicked off this coat drive in my community, reported on local CBS news last night

Boy Makes His Own Wish Come True For Christmas: Coats For The Homeless
December 13, 2016 11:21 PM

LANCASTER (CBSLA.com) — Harrison Pleer’s letter to Santa starts off like most others: a kid’s wish list for Christmas.

But Harrison isn’t like most 9-year-olds.

“One day, I was at school and I lost my jacket, and I went to lost-and-found,” Harrison said. “So I couldn’t find my jacket and thought of all the homeless people that would be cold this year.”

So this year, Harrison decided all he wanted for Christmas was to give coats to the homeless in his community. He got his mom’s help by asking her to post a request for used coats on Facebook.

“Acton, Palmdale, Quartz Hill, Lancaster, everybody was just bringing coats,” Pleer said. “His goal was 200 in six weeks. He surpassed that at 254.”

“I was shocked,” Harrison said. “I really didn’t understand how many coats I had.”

The coats came in and started stacking up. With the help of Pleer’s colleagues at State Farm and a local business that offered to dry clean everything for free, the coat drive at Grace Resources was on.

Harrison helped them find the right sizes and styles for men, women and children who came in without coats and left with a feeling of warmth on the outside and inside.

“I think it made them feel like they were special,” Harrison said. “It made me feel like my heart was going to explode with laughter and joy.”

...

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/12/13/boy-makes-his-own-wish-come-true-for-christmas-coats-for-the-homeless/

[Sissyk]

8. Oh, how I love that story!

Thank you so much for sharing it.

[DURHAM D]

10. Great story. Great kid. nt

[marybourg]

12. Since my DH is now bed-bound

and will never need shoes again, I brought a large trash bag full of his shoes to the Goodwill tonight. I was surprised to find the donation door open and staffed at 7:30 at night. I did keep back one pair of shoes. Somehow it didn't seem right for him not to have even one pair of shoes.

[renate]

15. it sounds like you're going through a tough time... I am so sorry

Many s to you and your husband.

[marybourg]

24. Thanks, but we are both content

with our situation and feel lucky to still be able to spend part of our day together at the end of DH's long life (this is the key)

[certainot]

13. thanks. i try to get past goodwill and salvation army

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. kick

[Buckeye_Democrat]

17. Thanks for the reminder.

I bought a new winter coat a few months ago (great deal) and my old one won't likely be used now. I'll donate it here.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. I gave away quilts to the homeless before I moved up to Vegas.

[eleny]

19. Today I read an article about Slow Fashion vs Fast Fashion

It was about how so many of us these days opt for an abundance of cheaper clothing instead of fewer pieces of quality made garments.

We often donate clothing but I still have an abundance of coats every time I turn around. So thanks for the nudge, DD. I'll pull out the few coats and get them donated.

Btw, here's the article I mentioned above. I like to sew for charity but it was still an eye opener and a lesson in self awareness.
"Slow Fashion – or the art of sustainable dressing"
http://www.pressherald.com/2016/12/11/what-not-to-wear/

[pipi_k]

28. Not being a fashion horse

myself, I tend to hold onto things (quality or not) long past the time when any reasonable person might have gotten rid of them.

Right now I'm wearing a pair of Old Navy fleece drawstring pants that are at least 15 years old (maybe older) and which are threadbare in some areas with the waist being all stretched out...thank goodness for the drawstring.


Stuff with holes that can't be mended, or stains that won't come out is reserved for around-the-house wear until they totally fall apart and then they turn into cleaning rags if the material is suitable.

Clothing that no longer fits is given away or donated.

[eleny]

30. I figure there's two ways to enjoy clothing

There's people who love new things all the time and then there's people who take comfort in their favorites for many years. Probably lots of shades of grey in between. My husband is 63 and still has an old moth eaten sweater from high school that he schlepped from NY to Colorado when he moved here in '71. Nostalgia and clothing go together!

Nothing like an old piece of clothing gone very soft to use as a rag. Old quilts come to mind, too. I've rescued a few from the thrift even though they had some tatters. I love them even though they weren't my family's.

Kick for the OP.

[TexasTowelie]

20. Thanks for posting.

I gave away some clothing about two years ago due to lack of space so I don't have much left to give to others.

Considering the reports of excessive executive compensation at Goodwill and that they pay some of their workers less than minimum wage, they are the last organization that I would think about making a donation to. I'm more likely to give to the Salvation Army because I have seen the good things that they do to try and assist the homeless. I'm also certain that the local churches are appreciative of donations.

[oasis]

22. Kick

[raccoon]

23. thanks for posting. I am in the process of decluttering my house.

Maybe I can donate some stuff I never use.

[SMC22307]

25. K&R

[Guilded Lilly]

26. Thank you for the reminder...

We have a big box at the front lobby of my workplace and it is always needing emptied.
Harsh weather hit northeast Ohio this week.

Every sock/mitten/scarf will help, too.

[pipi_k]

27. Not what one would expect, but

the town dump ....oops...I mean "transfer station" in my small rural town allows people to drop stuff off there for recycling to anyone else who wants to take it.

Kind of like a trading post.

Bring in your boots that no longer fit and pick through someone else's music CDs or whatever.

Anyway, I love the idea of giving away things I no longer use to people who need or want them

[niyad]

29. an excellent point, and thanks. several of the churches here have clothes closets, and give

the items away.

one church actually puts out racks of outerwear in cold weather, free for the taking (or giving, as people are encouraged to drop items off as well)

[War Horse]

31. Bless you n/t :)

[Dustlawyer]

32. I will do so immediately!

I have a closet full of shoes that no longer fit due to my neuropathy, and several old coats and long sleeve shirts that no longer fit because of my love for ice cream!

[bucolic_frolic]

33. The retailers aren't stocked with coats this year either

Should have bought when they were all piled up

[malaise]

34. Great project

[George II]

35. Great idea, thanks! For years my parents kept old coats and sweaters in the trunk of their car....

....in case they saw a frigid homeless person on the street.