One Warm CoatJust because the weather is unseasonably warm this week doesn’t mean you won’t be needing a warmer coat in the near future. This is especially true for people who have very little shelter from colder weather … homeless families, the working poor, and others without adequate resources to provide for themselves.

Our dream is that One Warm Coat becomes a part of the American lifestyle. When a coat is no longer needed, people will think of One Warm Coat. They will make their donation knowing that children, women and men in need will receive a gift of a warm coat.

Local Girl Scout troops are collecting coats this month through their affiliations with local schools. The One Warm Coat program is underway across WG — to benefit Sacred Heart Community Service — with drop off locations at Galarza, Schallenberger, Bagby, and Booksin schools, among others:

During the past three years’ annual drives, Girl Scout Service Unit 38 has collected nearly 7,000 gently used coats, jackets, sweaters, blankets, sheets and sleeping bags. More than 2,000 items alone were collected during last years’ drive and were used immediately by patrons of Sacred Heart.

“Keeping warm is something that many of our neighbors literally cannot afford,â€? Todd Madigan, Community Involvement coordinator for SHCS, said. “Each night across Santa Clara County, 7,500 of our neighbors find themselves without a humane place to lay their heads. For many this means sleeping in a car or an abandoned house; for others the city sidewalk must become their bed. As the temperature drops, it is frightful to remember that a large number of these community members–some of whom are children–have no covering whatsoever; no coat, no sleeping bag, no blanket, no sheet.â€?

Nearly 30 Girl Scout troops from Service Unit 38 (Cambrian, Campbell and Willow Glen) have pledged to collect gently used coats, jackets, and sweaters of all sizes along with blankets, sheets and sleeping bags to benefit Sacred Heart Community Service.

Coats, jackets, sweaters, and scarves are also welcome at a special donation collection event on Friday, November 23, 2007 (the day after Thanksgiving), all day long at Santana Row. You can also volunteer to help collect coats on that day.

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