FARMINGTON – Coat & Cupboard, a new project by the youth group of Old South Church in Farmington, is offering free gently used coats, sweaters, hats, mittens, and blankets.
With more than 300 pieces of warm clothing in stock, Coat & Cupboard opens its doors to the community on the first Sunday of each month. And this week, the youth group hopes to expand the project by launching a GoFundMe campaign.
Coat & Cupboard is located at 227 Main Street, in an unused carriage house behind the church’s Holman Parish House. Filled with racks of outerwear for men, women, and children, the project also displays tables loaded with blankets and sweaters. Clipped to clotheslines, hats and mittens festoon the walls. All items are free.
“We have a terrific location,” said Jodie Gunther, the youth group’s director. “We are far more accessible, and easy to locate, than when we were in the church basement.” She added that “the youth group has worked hard this fall to get the carriage house cleaned up and ready, but we still need to purchase a heating unit for when the temperatures really drop.”
That’s why the youth group has initiated a GoFundMe campaign. The funds will enable the teens to complete necessary electrical work, add insulation to the ceiling, and install a heating unit. This unit will be operated only when Coat & Cupboard is open. Donors may contribute to the fund can be found here.
To present their project, the youth group narrated a brief video–uploaded to the GoFundMe site and YouTube–which explains the project, and the additional work they hope to achieve.
“By installing a heating unit, Coat & Cupboard will be able to open on bitterly cold winter days, when coats and hats are most needed,” Gunther noted.
Donations of gently used coats, sweaters, blankets, and warm outerwear are gratefully accepted. We do not stock clothing (shirts, jeans, shoes, etc.). Items may be dropped off at the Old South church offices, 227 Main Street, Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by calling 778-0424.
Coat & Cupboard is open the first Sunday of each month, through March, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. However, in January, it will open on Jan. 8, not Jan. 1. In addition, it will open on Chester Greenwood Day, Dec. 3, from noon to 2 p.m.
We have a few members of our youth group who missed this “photo op,” but I certainly want to thank them, too, for their tireless work: Grace McIntosh, Ethan McIntosh, and Charlie Eng. You guys make it all happen!
You all are inspirational and awesome!♡♡♡♡