My first coat drive in 2010 was a great experience. With very little planning and no experience, I collected 25 warm coats in 5 days. I only visited the offices within the same building where I work. That was nice, but I had an entire year to plan my next coat drive. This year I enlisted Cognito and Servo to help.
Because this was my second coat drive, everyone I know was already familiar with what I was doing, and donations came from every direction. We had to devote a 4′ X 4′ area in our house to hold donations throughout the year.
I learned of a huge rummage sale happening at a church near my house. I asked the organizers if I could have the coats, clothes, and blankets that were left over for my coat drive – and they were GLAD to let me haul off anything I wanted to take. WONDERFUL!! You never know, until you ask.
Behold:
It took Cognito and Servo two trips with our truck to get all of this stuff to the rescue mission. I had some more last minute donations that are not in this photo, so it was a total of 18 bags of quality coats, clothes, and shoes in all sizes. The “donations corner” in my house was finally empty, but it never stays that way for long.
Moxie is co-Founder of the Louisiana Initiative, and a regular contributor for S.T.A.N.D.
Step Up Louisiana 