Cedar City Coats for Kids doubles its donations

Friday, Jan. 20, 2017
Cedar City Coats for Kids doubles its donations
Courtesy photo
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Representatives of the Knights of Columbus of Cedar City gathered at the Family Support Center in Cedar City to donate coats to children in need. Shown from left are Holy Cross Sister Yvonne of Christ the King Parish; Sam Kravetz; Marty Kravetz; Connie Sowards, manager of Family Support Center in Cedar City; Paul Smith; Harry Polland, Grand Knight of the Cedar City Knights of Columbus Council; Howard Austin; and Monsignor Robert Bussen, pastor of Christ the King Parish.

CEDAR CITY — The Knights of Columbus of Cedar City’s Coats for Kids project, which collects coats and other warm clothes for children in need during the winter, had its most successful drive yet. This year, 960 items were donated, including 740 coats. Other items were hats, scarves and gloves.
The Coats for Kids project was implemented in Cedar City by the Knights four years ago, and the number of donations has increased each year. In 2013, about 200 items were collected, said Howard Austin, a member of the Knights of Columbus and Christ the King parishioner. In 2014 and 2015, about 300 and 500 coats were donated, respectively. In 2016, donations almost doubled.
Austin attributes this growth to the decision to ask for donations from the entire community rather than just the parish. Donations, whether money or clothes, were received from a variety of area churches, with some of the largest donations coming from wards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he said. 
Receiving the money and coats is only the half of the project, Austin said. A 10-man committee was created to leave donation boxes at local businesses, including Walmart and banks. 
“We do the grunt work,” Austin said. 
Every couple of weeks, the boxes were emptied and the donations sorted. 
“We discard anything that isn’t functional or clean,” Austin said. 
The usable donations were taken to the Family Support Center in Cedar City, which distributed them to the families most in need. 
Working with an organization that has the resources to distribute the coats was a blessing, Austin said. 
Although this year’s project is completed, the Knights of Columbus are preparing for next year’s project, Austin said. In February, when coat prices have dropped, the Knights will use the $600 in monetary donations from this year to purchase items for next year, he said, adding that next year’s project promises to be as successful, if not more so, that this year.

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