Coats Still Needed To Help Keep Others Warm

Tonya Rice attends coats donated to help others stay warm this winter.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Even though the winter has been mild, the need for winter coats is just as great as ever. With many more months of cold weather to come, the coat drive at the Klothes Kloset still desperately needs your donations to help those in need.

Kids coats are in demand most of all, but there is currently a shortage of them to go around.

Tonya Rice, Manager at the Klothes Kloset, has been handling the annual coat drive after the Mahaska County United Way passed her the baton. “We took it over this year… it’s here and that’s what we’re doing,” says Rice.

The only real problem so far is that not enough coats have found their way to the old Jefferson School Building that houses ‘New Hope’ and the Klothes Kloset. Without enough staff, drop boxes have not been an option this year. There is, however, a drop box just inside the main door for New Hope, if one would choose to go that route versus handing it over directly to the staff.

“We’ve had many people come in. A lot of people looking for kids coats but we have very few of them”, Rice says. The day we spoke with her, only 8 kids coats were on the rack at that time. Rice says that most of the remaining coats donated are adult sizes. “We really can use kids coats,” Rice observed. She says lots of families have had to leave empty-handed due to not being able to find the kids coats they needed.

If you or your child are in need of a coat, it’s really easy to obtain one. Simply by walking up to a staff member and saying you need a coat will get you access to the room that holds this year’s donations. “They just walk in. They are free to look and try on coats,” Rice noted. “Grab a hat, grab gloves. If we have boots donated, they can grab those… They can just take it and go.”

Rice says that so far this year it’s impossible to count how many coats have found a new home from the program at this point, but the need continues to be great.

The Klothes Kloset is open Monday thru Friday 9 am to 5 pm.

The New Hope Community Center at 308 5th West, also known as the old Jefferson School Building. The clothing store works hand in hand with many of the area charities, offering their clothing on a voucher system for those who might be the victim of domestic abuse or having just lost their home to fire.

If you have any questions about the Klothes Kloset or the coat drive, you can contact Rice at 641.295.1837.