Coat drive keeps children bundled up
Dozens of coats filled a table at the second annual Coats for Kids drive just 10 minutes after the event began Thursday, Nov. 30, on South Main Street.
The coat drive, held at the Sons and Daughters of Italy Lodge, will benefit families and children in need around Butler.
The event was sponsored by District Attorney Richard Goldinger, who partnered with the First Methodist Church on North McKean Street to distribute the coats locally.
“As long as (the coat drive) is successful, we’ll keep doing it,” Goldinger said.
While shopping, Goldinger said he noticed the high prices of winter coats. He said a coat can cost upward of $60. Sturdier coats that protect the wearer from freezing temperatures can cost much more.
“There are a lot of families that are unable to afford winter clothing for their children,” Goldinger said. “Kids grow and grow out of their clothing. It can be expensive with the way things are.”
Last year, the 250 coats collected were all distributed within a week, Goldinger’s mother and volunteer Carole Goldinger said.
Carole Goldinger helped distribute the coats herself, making calls to school districts and nonprofits in the area. Other coats were given to the church’s secondhand clothing closet.
This year, half the table was already full an hour before the event started, Charmaine Fetterman, event manager for the Sons and Daughters of Italy, said.
The donated coats ranged in length and width and style. In a flyer shared on social media, the organization asked community members to bring in new coats of any size.
“Don’t forget about the teens!” the flyer read.
“Everybody buys coats for elementary-school-aged children or toddlers, and people don’t remember that, hey, 15-year-olds wear coats,” Goldinger said. “People may care more, they worry more about the little children. They all really need taken care of — the teenagers need coats also.”
“(Children) grow,” Goldinger said. “So last year, the coat that a kid might have gotten may not fit them this year. And that especially happens with teenagers.”
Thanks to Coats for Kids, Goldinger said, families that aren’t able afford a new coat for their child can pick one up for free.
Fetterman said the volunteer event, replete with Christmas cookies and appetizers, also kicks off the holiday season.
“(The holidays are) about giving, giving back to the community, making sure the children in the community, all their needs are met,” Fetterman said. “Anything we can do to help, that’s what we’re here for.”
