TURLOCK, Calif. — The need for winter coats is on the rise as temperatures start to drop, and a Turlock faith-based organization needs the community's help to make sure families stay warm.
Westside Ministries, a faith-based organization in Turlock, is collecting coats, warm clothes and toys for their annual 'Coats 4 Kids' drive.
This year, Westside Ministries is seeing their highest demand ever and hoping to give coats to 2,000 people in need. They are accepting donations of new and used coats, warm clothes and toys until Dec. 11.
Donations can be dropped off at Westside Ministries on 950 Columbia Street in Turlock Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Used coats can also be brought to Carr’s Cleaners at 500 East Main Street in Turlock.
"We go from infants all the way up to size 5X, so if a father doesn't have a coat, a mother, we don't exclude anyone," said JoLynn DiGrazia, the founder/director of Westside Ministries.
DiGrazia started the drive nearly 40 years ago as a young teacher. She gave blankets to kids after seeing the need in the community. One of the young girls later died from brain inflammation.
"That little girl had told us right before she passed, 'I'm sharing a coat with my sister and everyday, one of us gets to wear it to school.' And it changed everything," DiGrazia said.
From that moment on, DiGrazia wanted to expand the drive, and she collected coats and warm clothes. Over the past four decades, she's seen how important something as simple as a coat can be for a child.
"We had a family that started coming here about 15 years ago, and one of the young girls recounted to me recently that she did not have any really warm clothing or coats. She said, 'I used to trick my mind and pretend that I wasn't cold to walk to school.'"
The small gesture of so many community members donating coats over the years has meant so much to the families Westside Ministries has helped over the years.
Westside Ministries is distributing the coats Dec. 13-15.
If you'd like to donate to a child in need, you can find more information here.
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