TEWKSBURY, Mass., Jan. 1, 2020 — Thanks to a generous $25,000 donation from BainCapital of Boston, New England’s largest coat drive will be able to provide many more winter coats to adults and children who need them. Coats for Kids was contacted by BainCapital this winter to determine how to direct its annual holiday giving on behalf of employees, and confirmed a generous $25,000 financial donation to cover both the purchase of new, warm winter coats as well as other activities to fulfill the Caring Partners mission: “Anyone who needs a coat will have one.”
Coats for Kids is sponsored by corporate partners Anton’s Cleaners, Jordan’s Furniture and Enterprise Bank and has collected, cleaned, and donated more than one million coats since the program began in 1995.
In addition to this financial donation, hundreds of local businesses and community groups have signed up online for this popular fall community drive to help thousands of adults, children and infants who will go without a warm winter coat this winter. With COVID-19 stretching discretionary income thinner than ever before and many schools unable to do coat drives as robust as previous years, Caring Partners Inc. relies on charitable businesses, nonprofits or even neighborhood groups. Help is still needed in the form of financial donations and/or collection partners to continue the work of the organization.
Because of the impact of the pandemic, the organization has decided to extend the drive through the end of February 2021. Warm winter coats for adults and children are welcome at any one of 37 Anton’s Cleaners, six Jordan’s Furniture stores, or 26 Enterprise Bank branches. Coats are distributed through distribution partners made up of major local nonprofit and social service agencies such as Massachusetts Community Action Programs, Salvation Army, Middlesex Human Service Agency, Women’s Lunch Place, BU Medical Center Outreach Van Project, and many more.
Partners for this year’s Coats for Kids drive include Anton’s Cleaners, Jordan’s Furniture, Enterprise Bank, Boston 25, Kiss 108FM, Jam’n 94.5, 101.7 The Bull, WBZ 1030, 97.7 The Beat, WRKO, and 100.7 WZLX.