It was back in 1990 when local resident and TrueNorth supporter Max Dietz lost his wife. He brought in several of her almost new winter coats and gave them to the relatively new Executive Director, Bev Cassidy with this charge; “Make sure these go to someone in need.” This simple act of practical generosity in the face of grief was the birth of our Coats for Kids (& Adults) program in 1991. Ensuring every Newaygo County child (and adult) who needs one, has a warm winter coat
is the simple driving force behind this much-needed program.
On Saturday, October 15th, families were lined up two hours before the start of distribution. During the distribution event, which ran from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, 760 coats were distributed, along with close to 1,000 additional cold weather items. We expect the total amount of coats distributed to reach 900. Coats will also be distributed to the schools and partner agencies. AmeriCorps members, local volunteers and MYOI youth volunteers helped distribute coats that day. When asked about the event, a local mother of 4 stated; “The event helps out a ton, especially this year. The kids love coming and being able to pick out their own coats… thank you so much for doing this!” New and used coats in good condition are collected at TrueNorth year-round. Event sponsors included the Gerber Foundation, The Fremont Area Community Foundation and Operation Warm.