MISSION: PROVIDE FREE COATS TO PEOPLE IN NEED
Impact & Programs At-A-Glance
How Our Programs Work
Our Values
At One Warm Coat…
We Believe
in the basic right to protection from the cold.
We provide
coats to people in need, free of charge and without discrimination or obligation.
We treat
the people we serve with dignity and respect.
We promote
sustainability through the reuse and repurposing of outerwear.
We create
connections in local communities by fostering volunteerism.
We appreciate
and honor our volunteers and donors.
Coat Drive Program
More than 4,000 children, adults, companies, and groups spent time planning, organizing and holding coat drives in their communities during the 2019/2020 coat drive season. Because of the commitment and creativity of One Warm Coat’s Ambassadors, more than half a million people were warmed last winter.
School Coat Drives
Carey, WPNS Cooperative Learning Center, CaliforniaWe are a preschool class of 20 4-5 year olds. The students estimated that we would be able to collect 20 coats (the teachers and parents thought we could get a much higher number and were excited to blow the kids’ minds.) As a class, we discussed need vs. want and volunteerism and worked on social/emotional skills like empathy. The students sorted and counted all the jackets, thereby strengthening their math skills. They wrote “pocket notes” and drew pictures so that they also worked on fine motor skills and literacy. As a class, we also knitted three scarves that the students were quite proud to donate. The kids were amazed and proud that we collected 192 coats. We concluded our project by taking a field trip to deliver the coats to the non-profit partner so that the students could be a part of the process from start to finish.
Youth Led Coat Drives
Mary, IllinoisMy children started a coat drive to help people in our community. We collected coats from neighbors, friends, school mates, and family. We didn’t think when we started that we would have collected this many coats in a week and a half but we did. To see the excitement on my kids’ faces when the back of the car was filled with bags of coats everyday was a joy. We will make this an annual charity event!
Business/Retail Coat Drives
Jillian, Delaware Theatre Company, DelawareI was touched by how many patrons brought coats to donate when they came to see “A Christmas Carol.” We included that folks could bring other items to keep people warm, and we ended up with over 100 hats, scarves, and gloves. It was a pleasure and a privilege to help the workers on the front lines fighting poverty every day in our community.
Employee Engagement Coat Drives
Whitney, Medtronic, OklahomaWe’re in the Surgical Innovations Group at Medtronic, our team is called SIFPI (Surgical Innovations Field Philanthropic Initiative). We all work remotely and were really excited about holding virtual coat drives with One Warm Coat this year. We ran small coat drives with family and friends during the holidays, and some kids of employees ran coat drives in their classrooms. Together, we collected 6,732 coats and $9,795! The leadership team at Medtronic was very impressed, and we won an award for our success! Our SIFPI team was recognized by the Global Medtronic Foundation and received an Impact Grant. This is very exciting, as it is a coveted award and few are given!
Social Service Coat Drives
Helena, Ecology Center, CaliforniaOur community really stepped up and donated new and old coats which we donated to BOSS (Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency), a local community center; who then distributed these donations to 15 residential and shelter programs around Alameda County. We’re really excited to not only bring out the kindness of our community, but also promote the idea of reuse! Sustainability and community is our mantra and we’re really grateful for One Warm Coat for their initiative and for all the people who participated in our drive!
Individual/Informal Community Coat Drive
Heather, North CarolinaOur neighborhood came together to donate gently used coats in my donation bins during a 3-hour period. We had donuts and cider for those that donated as well. We had a great turnout for our small neighborhood! We are looking forward to doing it again next fall!
Faith Based Coat Drives
Sister Jean, Faith International Christian Center, GeorgiaOur experience was great. The church members went above and beyond in ensuring that we reached our goal of 100 coats within a 3-week collection period. We utilized the flyers, receipts, and goal chart to stay focused on the initiative. The chart was updated one to two times a week. The coats were delivered to the Real Life Center and we were treated with a tour of the facilities. The coordinator shared info about the Center that I will share with our membership.
Spotlight: Nonprofit Partners
One Warm Coat’s network of nonprofit partner agencies and schools are integral to the Coat Drive Program. More than 1,000 nonprofit agencies and schools partner with us every year to accept and distribute the coats our Ambassadors collect. Coats are distributed for free and without discrimination to children and adults in need. We are grateful for our partners who are on the ground, in the communities, providing much-needed services.
Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services
PennsylvaniaLast winter, our organization was able to distribute over 700 coats to county residents in need! We received so many offers to be the beneficiary of coat drives that I had to turn donors away. One Warm Coat made that possible! From the elderly program participant who was wearing a sweater in cold weather, to the homeless man who heard about the free coats and came in, to the multitude of women who came in to get coats for their children, and were overjoyed to find something for themselves – THANK YOU! The level of need is great – but the generosity and goodness in the world is even greater!!!
Boys & Girls Clubs of Contra Costa
CaliforniaIt has been a challenge finding coats in the winter for all the youth we serve (who are in desperate need), and then we learned of One Warm Coat. We didn’t know what to expect this first year since we just started the relationship, but we also knew that something would be better than nothing. Fast forward 2 months and we are now in possession of 500+ coats to distribute this winter season. This is a true blessing!
City Rescue Mission
OklahomaCity Rescue Mission has teamed up with One Warm Coat for many years and it has been a wonderful partnership. We serve hundreds of the needy homeless throughout Oklahoma City . From our clients who are here at the mission for a short period of time in their life to the many street homeless in Oklahoma City we hand out coats as needed to help all of them though the cold Oklahoma weather be it rain, snow, ice.
Crisis Coat Fund
One Warm Coat launched the Crisis Coat Fund in fall 2019 to address the needs of communities in crisis who are not able to receive coats through the Coat Drive Program alone. The Crisis Coat Fund enables One Warm Coat to respond quickly to emergency requests for coats by purchasing coats in bulk amounts, at a significantly discounted rate, and shipping the coats directly to where they are most needed.
The Crisis Coat Fund exceeded our expectations and warmed so many people this year, including kindergarteners in Connecticut and high school students in New York.
Being a teacher is not your typical 9-5 job. So many nights I go home thinking, and worrying, about my students. One of my greatest concerns is them staying warm during the winter months. Not only do our students need to wait at bus stops or walk to school during the cold Northeastern months, but many have trouble keeping heat on inside their homes. I was so overwhelmed and filled with joy when we received coats from One Warm Coat. I hope that this photo of my students fills you with as much joy as the students had when they received their new coats. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You have made a world of difference in their little lives.
Marisa, Kindergarten Teacher, Connecticut
I work with more than 150 children living in temporary housing. Temporary housing is not only children living in shelters. Temporary housing can also be children and their families living with another family member or friend because of economic hardship or loss of housing. Many of these children are dealing with barriers at home that can affect their learning at school. There are children who come to school hungry because they were not able to eat dinner the night before. Many of these children do not have their own space and have to share with family members. With everything that these children have going on they still find a way to be amazing children at school.
Quintasia, Social Worker, Bronx, NY
Bulk Coat Program
One Warm Coat’s Bulk Coat Program allows companies to turn their excess stock, samples, irregular and overruns into the gift of warmth. One Warm Coat accepts these large donations and distributes them throughout the county, often to areas that are not able to be helped through the Coat Drive Program. This winter, fourteen companies donated bulk amounts of coats and other warm outerwear to our neighbors in need.
Blue Apron
Colorado Trading
Dark Peak
DPST Nevada Ski Club
Google Cloud
Kuhl USA
Lands End
Leather Gloves Online
Loveland Ski Club
Newcastle Realty Services, LLC
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Silverado Golf Resort
Spyder
ThredUp
Kuhl USA’s donation of 1,050 coats and assorted pants and shirts were sent to 12 of One Warm Coat’s nonprofit partner agencies and schools across the country. Here are excerpts from two letters we received from very grateful high school students in New York.
Donor Spotlight
Every $1 donated to One Warm Coat
warms 1 person!
We are so grateful to our amazing donors!
Monetary donations support our programs and get free coats to our neighbors in need throughout the country. Below we’ve shared testimonials from a few of our donors who share why they choose to support One Warm Coat.
Donor from Texas
Thanks for the chance to find warm holiday feelings on the inside by providing warmth on the outside for others.
Donor from Mississippi
I live in north MS where poverty is considerably worse, and I’ve seen a lot of kids without a coat. This is such a wonderful cause. Thank you.
Donor from Oregon
I walked through a snow blizzard to get to class and I was drenched wearing a coat with no hoodie. As I complained about my “problem” I realized there are people without coats who suffer every day from being cold. I want to donate because I do not want people to be cold.
Middle School from New York, NY
This year our school has decided to fundraise for One Warm Coat. As a middle school student counsel, we voted on donating to One Warm Coat. We feel strongly aligned with your mission to help bring warm coats and more comfort to people in need, and hope that our donation can help provide more people with a warm coat.
Donor from Oregon
I just happened to see the Weather Channel and the lady was talking about One Warm Coat. So, I went to the web site at my public library. I am seeing some very cold and snow and hope this will help a small bit.
Sponsors
Thank you to these amazing sponsors! We are grateful for their support, which makes our Coat Drive Program possible.
Absolut shared warmth with over 100,000 people.
During the holiday season, Absolut held hundreds of coat drives across the country through their retail and account partners. Absolut also joined forces with Sofar Sounds to create a unique, donation-focused concert series to collect more coats for those in need in cities across the country.
Lands’ End and The Weather Channel teamed-up as official sponsors for the 3rd Annual One Warm Coat Day.
On October 3, Lands’ End donated one new outerwear item to One Warm Coat for every Squall coat sold online or in-store. Customers were also encouraged to donate a new or gently worn coat in-store to receive 40% off one outerwear item. The Weather Channel featured One Warm Coat throughout the day on October 3 and interviewed President & CEO, Beth Amodio.
J.Crew warmed more than 55,000 people.
For a 3rd season, J.Crew sponsored the Coat Drive Program and invited customers to donate gently worn coats at stores nationwide. More than 225 J.Crew stores participated in collecting over 5,400 coats. On Giving Tuesday, J.Crew helped warm an additional 25,000 people by donating $10 for every coat sold that day.
Delta Air Lines warmed 34,000 people.
For an 11th season, Delta Air Lines sponsored the Coat Drive Program by inviting their employees to hold coat drives at stations nationwide. A total of 66 stations participated collecting an estimated 7,000 coats and raising $2,000.
Brooks Brothers warmed nearly 29,000 people.
For a 7th season, Brooks Brothers sponsored the Coat Drive Program and invited customers to donate gently worn coats at stores nationwide. More than 250 stores participated collecting an estimated 2,900 coats.
KTVU Fox 2, Bay Area Big O Tires, and The UPS Store San Francisco Co-op locations warmed more than 23,000 people.
For a 17th season, KTVU set out to warm communities across the San Francisco Bay area. Viewers were invited to donate gently worn coats at designated retail outlets including sponsors Bay Area Big O Tires and The UPS Store San Francisco Co-op locations. More than 23,000 coats were collected across 225 locations.
Financial Highlights
Summary Of Donations:
| In-Kind Contributions | $4,282,709 |
| Corporate & Foundation Contributions | $246,265 |
| Individual Contributions | $146,016 |
| Coat Drive & Agency Registrations | $13,677 |
| Total Value of In-Kind and Cash Contributions: | $4,688,667 |
Summary Of Expenses:
| Program | $4,598,205 |
| Fundraising | $91,227 |
| Administrative | $65,757 |
| Total Value of Costs Distribute and Costs: | $4,775,189 |