CONNECTICUT – The 15th Annual Coats for Connecticut community coat drive will kick off on Thursday, November 9 from 4:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. at the Best Cleaners at 2759 Main Street in Glastonbury, and coat donations collected at all other Best locations through Monday, December 4.
With winter around the corner and many families struggling to make ends meet, the need for gently worn, winter coats for all ages and sizes continues to grow. The local dry cleaning and tailoring company is again partnering with The Salvation Army to get as many donated coats as possible out to those in need throughout Connecticut before the first freeze.
The public is urged to go through their closets; gather up coats that are in good condition but no longer needed; and drop them off at any one of Best’s 13 locations from November 9 through December 4. Children’s coats in all sizes are in great demand. All donated coats will be cleaned for free by Best and delivered to centralized Salvation Army drop sites in Meriden, Middletown, Hartford, and New Haven, where volunteers will sort the coats for distribution.
Donations to The Salvation Army for the purchase of a new coat can be made online at salarmy.us/CoatsForCT
Schools, churches, and businesses are also encouraged to conduct their own coat drive and drop off their donations directly at Best Cleaners in Berlin, Bristol, Canton, Glastonbury, Middletown, North Haven, Old Lyme, Plainville, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, Windsor, or West Hartford. The Coats for Connecticut program was started by Best Cleaners in 2008 with the primary goal of putting its eco-friendly services to work to help those in need get through the cold winter months. Best’s campaign partners have played a critical role in the overall success of the community program.
In addition to The Salvation Army, sponsors include Eyewitness News WFSB-TV3, Young’s Printing/Fast Signs, and Two Men and A Truck. Their ongoing support of the campaign continues to increase awareness of the growing need in the community and the relative ease of donating to the program. Since the campaign’s inception, more than 150,000 coats have been collected, cleaned, and delivered. For more information on Coats for Connecticut, go to www.bestcleaners.com or call 1-888-950-BEST.
About The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination since 1865. Nearly 33 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a broad array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter for the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. About 82 cents of every dollar raised is used to support those services in nearly 9,000 communities nationwide. For more information, visit ctri.salvationarmy.org
Media Contact: Michael R. Baldelli
Public Relations & Marketing Manager
Southern New England Division
Office: (860) 702-0021 | Cell: (860) 937-8932
Michael.Baldelli@use.SalvationArmy.org