COMOX VALLEY, B.C. – As the weather gets cooler in the Comox Valley, people in need will be able to stay warm.
Coats for Care is a new local organization that aims to help the less fortunate.
Founder Deborah Little said only eight months ago, she was homeless following a house fire. One day, a woman gave her the coat off her back, inspiring Little to pay it forward. With that, Coats for Care was born.
“I just wanted to extend this kindness to others … there’s a lot of people that are homeless,” Little said, speaking with MyComoxValleyNow.com on Tuesday.
“Coats for Care is providing people in need of all ages and gender, we do not discriminate, (with) a warm coat, rain coat, light summer jacket … we will do coat drives several times a year, and obtain donated gently-used to new coats, and distribute them to the public as needed.”
The organization’s first coat drive is set for November 24th at the Northgate Church (1640 Burgess Road) in Courtenay from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
“We do already have some donated coats, but we need more in order to activate the business. We’ve already had local businesses donate new coats, which we want to donate for children so they can go to school with brand-new coats, and have confidence,” Little said.
She added that if the first coat drive is successful, they plan to activate their phone line, and start distributing informational literature around the community.
Laying out how it all works, Little said that, “the coats get washed, sorted and they’re kept in a storage locker. Our volunteers then retrieve them as the phone calls come in, we meet the person and give them a variety of coats to choose from.”
She asked that anyone donating a coat check the pockets and get them washed, if possible.
“If not, we’ll still take them and get our volunteers to wash them,” she said.
Little added that Coats for Care would not be possible if it were not for the help in marketing and developing social media from her partner Lauren Dean.
She also thanked Pastor Evan and Pastor Joelle for the use of the Northgate property for the coat drive when speaking with MyComoxValleyNow.com.
Anyone looking to donate a coat can contact Little at (250) 702-2034 or via email at [email protected].
More details can also be found through the Coats for Care Facebook page.
