PEORIA, Ill. – The Salvation Army is collecting coats for their 38th “Coats for Kids” program.
The Corps’ Kathy Anderson says they need new and gently used coats for all ages, and the need keeps growing.
“Last year alone, we gave away 3,000 coats, and we started earlier this year. We started about a month earlier doing the collections, just because it got cold early last year, and we didn’t have the coats collected to give out, ” Anderson says.
This year, the Salvation Army wants to make sure they have a good stock of coats ready for people coming to sign up for Christmas Assistance.
“The sizes that we need the most, and we see the least in the collection bins, are for very small kids, like under a year old. That tends to be when people have so many more expenses, like diapers and formula, that coats may be something that they don’t have the extra money to buy,” Anderson says.
Coats can be dropped off at over 30 locations, including the Salvation Army’s Corps Community Center in Peoria, the Pekin Salvation Army, and a number of OSF Healthcare offices. More locations will be added soon.
Coats will be distributed in Peoria starting November 1st, at the Corps Community Center in Peoria, and at the Pekin Salvation Army 360 Life Center beginning November 6th.
If you need coats, but can’t make it to one of the Christmas Assistance Sign-up dates, you can go to the Corps’ Family Services or Pekin office Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For a list of drop-off locations and more, click HERE.
