By Terri Lynn, SouthFloridaReporter.com, Managing Editor, Dec. 2, 2015 – “Can you imagine going through an entire winter without a warm coat?” said Gary Bagley, Executive Director at New York Cares. “This is the reality for more than 100,000 New Yorkers, from the homeless to working families forced to make tough choices between rent, food, and warm clothing.
As transplanted New Yorkers, we love waking up in 80 degree weather with palm trees and beaches. Our need for heavy sweaters and winter coats is minimal at best. With the holidays in full swing, we at SouthFloridaReporter.com want to make you aware of a very worthy program, The New York Cares Coat Drive. We are bringing this to your attention with the hopes that you will share this with friends and family in the greater New York area.
The need for coats is immediate, as New York Cares has received requests for 100,000 coats to date. In addition, according to the Farmers’ Almanac forecast, the winter of 2015–2016 looks similar to last winter, with bitter cold and snow in New York.
The New York Cares Coat Drive is in its 27th year and is an annual citywide tradition that has collected more than 1.7 million winter coats for men, women and children in need throughout the city since 1989. From now through Thursday, December 31, 2015 individuals can donate gently used, freshly laundered coats at hundreds of locations throughout the five boroughs including all NYPD Police Precincts, New York Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal and many other sites.
“We all need to step up and donate a coat this holiday season”
New York Cares’ iconic ‘Shivering Statue of Liberty’ Coat Drive PSA will air on the TOSHIBA VISION screens located at the top of One Times Square to raise awareness of the Coat Drive through the end of the month. The PSA will also appear on billboards, in magazines, and online thanks to Mindshare, Xaxis, Group M, and Kinetic Worldwide, and will air on NBC 4 New York and Bloomberg TV.
About The 27th Annual New York Cares Coat Drive
The New York Cares Coat Drive is one of the largest of its kind in the United States. Since 1989, New York Cares has collected and distributed more than 1.7 million coats.
The thousands of donated coats will be counted, sorted and distributed to organizations serving the homeless and other low-income New Yorkers, at an 8,600 square foot temporary warehouse space located at 157 West 31st Street in midtown Manhattan.
The sponsors for this year’s New York Cares Coat Drive are the New York City Police Department, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), Vornado Realty Trust, Toshiba, KKR, Delta Airlines, Mindshare, NBC 4 New York, Bloomberg, and Time Warner Cable.
New Yorkers can make financial donations in support of the Coat Drive and New York Cares’ year-round work online, by text or by mail. For more information about the New York Cares Coat Drive, locations, news, or to make a financial donation, the public can visit www.newyorkcares.org or call 646-801-4022.
Where to Donate Coats
New Yorkers can donate gently-used, freshly laundered coats at almost 300 public sites around the city, as well as hundreds of private sites hosted by corporations and civic groups.
New Yorkers may donate coats at the following locations through Thursday, December 31, 2015. Please visit newyorkcares.org for exact times and locations, and additional collection sites.
· Every New York City Police Precinct (24 hours a day)
· Every library branch in the Queens Public Library system (during open hours)
· The New York Cares Warehouse, 157 West 31st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues (9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday)
· New York Cares office, 65 Broadway (weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
· New York Penn Station – LIRR concourse (weekdays, 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.)
· Grand Central Terminal – Track 16/Graybar Passage (weekdays, 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.)
About New York Cares
New York Cares is the largest volunteer network in the city. Last year, 62,000 New Yorkers made the city a better place by volunteering in New York Cares programs at 1,400 nonprofits and schools – improving education, meeting immediate needs, and revitalizing public spaces. For more information, visit newyorkcares.org.
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