MANSFIELD — The Mansfield Noon Optimist Club spent October and November gathering more than 1,000 items of cold weather clothing to share with children and families in need.
As a result, Grace Episcopal Church now has coats, gloves, hats and more at 41 Bowman St. The church has coats of all sizes available Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Mansfield Noon Optimist Club chairman Tom Conn said club members started their annual “Coats for Kids” drive in 2010, and have since brought in more items each year through company partnerships.
“We got maybe 70 coats the first year, and then we kept getting more and more,” he said. “We’re proud of what we’re doing there and it just keeps getting better.”
Grace Episcopal Minister Joe Ashby said the church will continue to accept donations of new or gently used coats for children and adults, as well as other winter gear.
“We’ve handed out a lot of them already, and we’re gearing up for Thanksgiving too,” Ashby said.
He said church staff are also putting together a mitten and glove tree for people to give and take from as they need. The church’s open hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The coats are located in the church’s food pantry.
Conn said the Noon Optimist Club couldn’t have gathered as many donations as it did if not for the partnerships with local organizations.
Ashley HomeStore locations in Ontario and Medina had coat donation bins in their stores and Altrusa International of Mansfield also gathered coats before the collection drive Nov. 2.
“The donations together have dramatically increased,” Conn said. “Last year, we got 1,000 items, so the goal this year was to get more. I wasn’t sure that was going to happen, but it did.”
Conn said most of the winter gear comes from Noon Optimist Club members, but members of the public are free to drop-off donations as well.
The “Coats for Kids” drive next year is scheduled for Nov. 8, 2023 from 9 to 11:30 a.m., likely at the Mansfield Holiday Inn.
