Orinda Association staffer Marie Waterman checks the donations to One Winter Coat outside the OA office in Library Plaza.
With the arrival of cold weather, The Orinda Association (OA) has partnered with the nonprofit One Warm Coat to help those in need of winter clothing.
The goal is to provide a free, warm coat to any person in need. The bin for donations is in front of the OA office, at the Orinda Library Plaza and will be available 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday until Dec. 16.
Kate Wiley, an OA board member who heads the drive, says, “I was drawn to One Warm Coat’s simple yet efficient and effective program which was conceived in San Francisco one Thanksgiving weekend in 1992. Since then they have hosted more than 34,000 coat drives and have given away more than 6 million coats. They do this by working with local agencies.”
The OA is working with White Pony Express in Pleasant Hill to distribute the coats.
Their mission is to end hunger and poverty in Contra Costa County by redistributing the abundance around us to those in need, and this program certainly does that. Theirs is a direct service with coats given and delivered within a few days to people who are cold,” Wiley says. “This year, we especially want coats for children, but all sizes are welcome. As you give, please bring in items that are of the same caliber that you would give to loved ones, family members, or that you might wear – clean, in good repair, or new.”
Wiley says a friend of hers, after her husband died, gave all his jackets to One Warm Coat. Another year, having no more of her own to give, she went to thrift stores, purchased good serviceable items and donated them. Others go out and buy new products. This is the fourth year the OA has conducted a coat drive. Last year more than 400 coats were received.
“With the homeless and those in poverty increasing, we hope for many more this year.” Wiley says.
