Help Keep East Texas Kids Warm With a Simple Coat Donation

(East Texas) The annual Coats for Kids drive has kicked off, and East Texas dry cleaners are now accepting new and gently used coats that will benefit children who do not have a coat for when it gets cold. Here's how you can donate a new or gently used coat to help kids stay warm and cozy this winter.

While the calendar says it's fall, we're still dressing like it's summer in East Texas. Our jackets and coats are still on the hangers in the back of the closet. Give it a week when that first 'fake fall' cold front hits and you'll be looking for that jacket, but then back to shorts a day or two later. It happens every year, and I'm right there with you when it gets chilly, and we all need to layer up.

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Imagine, though, you're a kid or a teenager, and you head off to the bus stop or to school, and it's 50° or even 31°, and you don't have a coat. You can imagine that child shivering in the cold as they wait for their ride or walk to school. Not a fun way to start or even end the day, or play outside when it's recess.

For many children in East Texas, that will be the case this year. However, with your assistance, we can all change that. When you participate in the Coats For Kids campaign, we can ensure that kids in Smith and Gregg Counties get the warm winter coats they need.

How the Coats for Kids Campaign Works

In a partnership with East Texas area cleaners, People Attempting To Help (PATH) in Tyler and Longview Community Ministries are hosting the Coats For Kids coat campaign. Through October 31, you can drop off a new or gently used coat at any participating East Texas dry cleaner, where it will be cleaned for free and given to PATH or Longview Community Ministries to be given to a child in need.

READ MORE --> 3 Good Places To Donate Your Clothes And Thrift Stuff In Tyler

Who Benefits From the Donations

On November 14, the kids who need a coat can show up at one of the select distribution centers in Tyler and select a donated coat for free. Parents must register in advance with PATH for distribution location and details in Tyler. Distribution day in Longview will be November 14 at Broughton Recreation Center.

Where to Donate Coats in Tyler and Longview

The following Tyler dry cleaners are participants in the Coats for Kids campaign:

• Progress Cleaners - 732 S Bois D'Arc
• Progress Cleaners - 1908 ESE Loop 323
• Progress Cleaners - 5522 Old Jacksonville Hwy
• Progress Cleaners - 7924 S Broadway
• Progress Cleaners - 214 Shelley Dr
• The Cleaning Company - 3923 Troup Hwy
• The Cleaning Company - 4200 Old Bullard Rd
• The Cleaning Company - Bergfeld Shopping Center
• The Cleaning Company - Loop East Shopping Center
• The Cleaning Company - Old Jacksonville Hwy @ Toll 49
• VIP Cleaners - 2631 University Blvd
• VIP Cleaners - Hwy 64 near Walmart
• VIP Cleaners - 2084 Three Lakes Pkwy
• VIP Cleaners - 12912 Hwy 155 S
• VIP Cleaners - 305 S Jackson St - Jacksonville
• United Heritage Credit Union - 7586 Old Jacksonville Hwy
• United Heritage Credit Union - 522 S Broadway

The following Longview dry cleaners are participants in the Coats for Kids campaign:

• McClendon Cleaners
• Village Cleaners
• Dry Clean Super Center
• Longview Community Ministries - 506 N Second St

When Is Coats for Kids Distribution Day?

Distribution day will be Saturday, November 14. Coat recipients will need to provide certain documentation in order to receive a coat on distribution day and register in advance for the Tyler distribution event. Check the PATH and Longview Community Ministries websites for all information related to distribution day.

Now is the time to go through your closet and your kid's closets and pull out those coats they no longer wear or have outgrown and give them new life with another child this winter.