Although temperatures here in New York City have remained mild thus far, there was a surprising nip in the air a couple of days ago that reminded me of how unpleasant winter can be when you aren’t dressed warmly enough.
A charity called New York Cares collects nearly 70,000 gently used winter coats each December and distributes them to thousands of men, women, and children who would otherwise be cold. This includes not only homeless people, but the thousands of New Yorkers who must make the choice each year between buying a winter coat or meeting other basic survival needs such as putting food on the table.
If you have any winter outerwear that you or your family aren’t wearing anymore, do yourself a favor by creating space in your closet and getting those coats into the hands of people who need them.
There are collection sites all over the city, including during the morning rush hours at Grand Central Station, Penn Station, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal, as well as anytime at police stations, Janovic Plaza stores, Time Warner Cable stores, and others. See this site for a list of locations.
The coat drive runs from December 1st through 30th.
