A Mattapoisett coat drive, organized by Doreen Gomes and Nancy Duff, yielded 160 gently used and new coats of all shapes and sizes on December 31, 2011. The coats were collected and donated to Child and Family Services for distribution to people in need in the Greater New Bedford Area.
“Every year I think there won’t be any coats left to give and every year the community opens its closets and gives,” Ms. Duff said.
Mattapoisett resident Bruce Rocha assisted in delivering the truckload of coats to Child and Family Services in New Bedford.
“Once again Bruce Rocha… took time out of his busy schedule to make this possible,” said Ms. Gomes.
More than 760 coats have been collected since the One Warm Coat drive began in 2008, and over 560 have been donated to Child and Family Services.
“Seeing people choose coats that put smiles on their faces and knowing they will not be cold this winter is heartwarming,” said Child and Family Services director of development Susan Remy. “Nancy and Doreen do a fantastic job organizing this coat drive and we are thankful to be recipients.”
Child and Family Services is a private, non-profit organization. It is not state run, so support from the community is vital. Thousands of people benefit each year form the more than 20 programs Child and Family Services offers. Since 1843, hundreds of thousands of children, adults and families in the Greater New Bedford area have benefitted from Child and Family services.
One Warm Coat is a national non-profit organization that supports and encourages coat drives. It helps individuals, groups, companies and organizations across the country collect coats and deliver them to local agencies for distribution. More than one million coats have been donated to people at no cost since One Warm Coat’s inception in 1992. To learn how you can coordinate a coat drive, visit www.OneWarmCoat.org.