As the temperature rises, it's the perfect time to prepare for the cold months ahead by donating gently used winter coats.
The Coats for Kids and Coats for Seniors programs are now accepting donations for the month of May to help those in need.
Drop-off locations across Portage la Prairie
The community can drop off gently used winter items at the following locations from May 1st to May 31st:
- Westland Insurance
- United Way Office Portage
- Portage Service for Seniors (Herman Pryor Center)
"Anybody who has any gently used winter items that no longer fit them or their family, we have a bin at the front of our office, and it's open for all donations for the whole month of May," says Kaylee Hannah, Executive Director of Portage Service for Seniors.
A focus on seniors this year
While the Coats for Kids program has been a mainstay, the need for winter gear for seniors is becoming increasingly important.
“There’s, lots of people in the community who are lacking winter clothes, including seniors,” Hannah notes. “In addition to children’s coats and winter items, we’re also looking for coats and winter items for seniors and adults as well.”
This year, the focus is not only on kids but also on seniors, with a spring collection launched after a successful pilot in the fall.
"Last fall was our first time pilot. It was a pilot project with United Way," Hannah adds. "We were trying it out for the first time in the fall, and it went over really well. That's why we're doing another collection in the spring this year."
Community response and support
The community has already shown strong support for the program.
"We’ve seen quite a bit, actually," Hannah remarks. "So that’s great to see with spring. People are packing up their winter items, so it’s a good time.
In total, approximately 400 coats are collected each year through the program.
"When those coats don’t get distributed, we hang on to them until the next year or we also disperse them between the Family Resource Centre, Portage Friendship Centre and a couple other locations," says Megan Romphf, Community Engagement Coordinator at United Way West Central Manitoba.
Support the drive
The spring collection runs until May 31st, and organizers encourage anyone who can to donate.
"We just wanted to give a shout-out to Simplot this year because they did do some sponsorships so that we could make sure that those coats did get cleaned," Romphf adds. "Brandon Cleaners has taken that on for us, so this will help with the mileage to get the coats there and back and to also have them cleaned."
Romphf concludes, "Every donation helps, and we are really excited about continuing this program to ensure everyone has a warm coat when winter comes."
Residents are encouraged to stop by any of the listed locations and drop off winter items to help keep the community warm.