KindnessSeptember 8, 2026 · 3 min read

The Coat Drive That Outgrew Its Basement

One bin of donated winter coats filled an entire floor by December. Nobody stopped asking, so nobody stopped giving.

Volunteers sorting donated winter coats on tables in a community center

By Priya Raman · Contributing writer

It started with a plastic bin in a church basement and a note taped to the lid: take one, leave one.

By the first cold snap the bin was a rail. By December it was the whole lower floor, sorted by size, with a mirror at the end so people could see how they looked.

The mirror was deliberate. "If you're handing someone a coat, hand them a coat they'd choose," says organizer Bea Lindqvist. "Dignity costs nothing and it's the whole thing."

Last winter the drive placed 3,100 coats. This year they have added boots.

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