By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
With the cold weather starting to arrive, people will be bringing out their winter clothes to stay warm.
And for those that can't afford warm clothes, the Salvation Army in St. Joseph is here to help with its annual coat drive.
Major Ronald Key, Administrator of the Salvation Army in St. Joseph, says they will provide many different types of winter weather gear.
"What people do (they) just come into our office, they need a coat we give them a voucher, and send them to our thrift store to take a coat that fits them," Key tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "Usually there's coats, there's hats, there's gloves, and there's scarves those kinds of things to keep them warm for the winter time."
Key says last year they gave away 650 coats during the drive. He says there really is no goal for how much they want to give away.
"We just make sure that hopefully we get enough coats to meet all the needs," Key says. "Of course, a lot of people are just now thinking about it because it turned cold the last few days and it's hard to think about it when the weathers warm outside so we'll continue to take those even if it's past October we'll take them all winter, they can either be used coats or they can be gently used we'd like them clean when people bring them."
Coats and winter clothes can be dropped off at the Salvation Army Community Center at 7th and Messanie between 9am and 1pm. You can contact the Salvation Army for more information.
Key says there is a great need for coats for children, but they have coats available for anyone and everyone
"So, we have a variety of those sizes, we usually try to encourage them maybe get a coat that's a little big larger than they actually need so maybe the coat will last longer or they can wear it again next year," Key explains. "But we do give them a chance to actually look on the racks and see what we have available."
Coats will be distributed at the Salvation Army Corps Community Center at 7th and Messanie in St. Joseph between 9am and noon Monday through Friday beginning November 1st.