St. Anthony Coats For Kids

01/01/2019

Council: 2219 - WESTBROOK

Project Description:

The first part of September 2018 a Pratt Abbott Laundry representative contacted Council 2219 inquiring whether they could again solicit the help of the Westbrook Knights of Columbus to assist them in sorting and preparing all recycled coats collected during the Salvation Army in conjunction with WCSH-TV, Shaw’s Supermarkets and Pratt Abbott annual Coats For Kids Project. This project is done annually in order to provide all children in need with clean, attractive and warm coats. Again this year members of Council 2219 overwhelmingly agreed to jump in and assist on this most worthy cause. A major effort to insure this task is completed, volunteers from the Council 2219 sort thru all the dirty coats, cleaning out pockets, disposing torn and ruined coats and keeping only the washables ones. Non-washable coats are not dry-cleaned. Once the coats are cleaned by Pratt Abbott Laundry, the volunteers bag them up (clear plastic bags, which Council 2219 purchase and donate, cost $300.00) and distribute throughout the state by the Salvation Army. It is unknown as to the amount of coats which are processed but for sixteen weeks members of Council 2219, along with several wives, put in two hours each day, twice a week, completing the task previously mentioned. Without this Councils participation a large portion of the donated coats would sit idle in a storage locker waiting for someone to find time to process them. Based on the information received from Pratt Abbott Laundry, who washes all the coats, Westbrook Council 2219 is the only organization in the state that volunteer to do this type of work, which is so important for the success of this major event.