THUNDER BAY – A local initiative will offer hundreds of coats and other items of warm outerwear to those in need over the week of Nov. 16.
Coats for Kids, now in its 14th year thanks to the efforts of the Thunder Bay Catholic school community, is inviting community members who need assistance to visit the Victoriaville centre between 10 a.m. and noon, beginning Monday and ending Saturday.
Those interested in picking up winter clothing should use the north entrance to Victoriaville, near Giorg Restaurant.
The Coats for Kids initiative, supported by the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board and Ontario Elementary Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA), collected around 700 coats, and a smaller number of hats, mitts, and winter boots from families involved in local Catholic schools to give away this year.
Many of the items are for children, though the group also offers adult clothing as well.
While COVID-19 made it difficult to reach previous heights – the project has netted as many as 2,000 donated coats in past years – organizer Solange Côté was simply happy it could go forward amid the pandemic.
Côté, an elementary school teacher and chair of the OECTA’s local human rights committee, said volunteers hope to help as many people as possible, but it’s not about the numbers.
“I try not to focus on the numbers, it’s more about doing the work,” she said. “I find the most important part of the day is when we greet people and have a conversation. You get to know them.”
Those interactions are particularly crucial thanks to the pandemic, she stated.
“The people that are on the fringe of society often are very isolated, and COVID-19 has been even worse for that,” she said.
Any items not taken over the coming week will be donated to local agencies, Côté said.
The project partners with Barb’s Laundromat and Iron Range, who donate services to facilitate cleaning and transportation of coats.
