Salvation Army asking for gently used coats ahead of cold weather

KAMLOOPS — It’s been an unseasonably warm October, but the Salvation Army is looking ahead to the cold of winter, soliciting donations for its annual Coats for Folks drive.

The donated coats, for all shapes and sizes, will be distributed this fall and winter to people in need on the streets, as well as low-income families in the region who can’t afford the extra cost.

“It’s just such an easy way for us to blanket our community with support. Let people know that we care,” said Captain Kelly Fifield from the Kamloops Salvation Army. “We encounter all sorts of people who need coats. We see families that are living right on that line, they live paycheque to paycheque, and as soon as their kids grow they don’t have that money to go out and buy a new coat. So being able to contact us and come in and get a coat is really important.”

Coats for Folks started Tuesday (Oct. 11) and runs until Oct. 25, but has experienced a slow start due to the warmer October weather.

“I think it’s been an interesting year because it’s been so warm. Many people haven’t started to pull out their winter coats yet, and so we’re a couple days in and we’ve really only had three or four coats come in,” noted Fifield. “So we want to make sure the word is out there that maybe this weekend people are going to think ‘I need to pull out some winter coats with the cool mornings happening.’”

Last year, the Salvation Army received around 600 coats — well above its ask — and the organization used many of them for area residents affected by flooding in Merritt and elsewhere.

This year, Fifield says the Salvation Army is hoping for about 300 coats.

You can drop off coats at Thompson Cleaners in Sahali Mall or at the Salvation Army’s headquarters on Poplar Street on the North Shore.