We’ve all heard the saying, “it takes a village” and that was certainly true this October. The Salvation Army has been priviledged to partner with Tuchman Cleaners and Bob Gregory and our friends from WTHR-13 for the past 24 years to gather, clean and distribute coats to kids in need. Hoosiers are a generous group of people donating enough coats (and dollars to buy more coats) to clothe all of the kids who attended Saturday’s distribution day at the Fairgrounds.

So, we’d like to take a moment to thank all the people and businesses who make this event a success. Thanks to Two Men and Truck for donating their time and trucks to pick up coats around the city and deliver them to Tuchman Cleaners for cleaning. We appreciate the hundreds of volunteer hours spent collecting, sorting and setting up coats for easy shopping. Thanks to Burlington Coat Factory and Walmart for hosting our teams while they shopped with the donated dollars. Thanks to our friends at WTHR-13 for their time helping parents fit their kids with coats. And for the officers from Cops for Kids (pictured above) who joined us to give the kids warm hats and gloves to accompany those new coats! Of course, we can’t forget our friends at the Indiana Pacers, Butler University and the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders for helping us show the families a good time while they wait.

So, are you feeling all warm and fuzzy now? You didn’t miss out on your chance to make a difference in Indy this season. We have lots of volunteer opportunities for you and your group. Check them out here.

Or maybe you’d like to help us with our WIBC Radiothon goal to provide 50,000 meals and 2,500 nights of shelter…go to WIBCRadiothon.org and check out how you can get involved.

With a few dollars in last minute donations to spend for Coats for Kids, we called our friends at Walmart to see which store had the most coats available in stock. With $1,000 to spend, we knew we’d find good coats for great prices. Well, we can always count on Walmart to go above and beyond with their support for The Salvation Army. After hosting our shoppers and helping us with our purchases, Walmart donated $5,000 in coats to Indy’s kids in need! We just can’t thank Walmart enough for helping us help families who are struggling.  

This year’s Bob Gregory’s Coats For Kids was easily the largest distribution day to date with the line to enter at the Northwest Pavilion stretching for blocks around the Indiana State Fairgrounds. This annual partnership with Tuchman Cleaners and WTHR-13 distributed coats to more than 5,000 area children on Saturday. (Check out the video on the right)

We’d also like to thank our event partners, Two Men And A Truck, the Indianapolis Colts, Store And Move, Burlington Coat Factory, and the hundreds of volunteers who make this event happen.  It truly takes a community’s efforts to reach out to so many in need. “No one group could pull off something like this,” said WTHR retired weatherman Bob Gregory.  “This is a team effort dedicated to helping those who need it most.”  Bob has been a part of every coats campaign since it’s beginning 23 years ago.  “I’ve never seen a crowd like this,” he said.  “But I’ve also never seen a community respond like this before.” 

If you didn’t get the opportunity to help with Coats for Kids, remember Angel Tree and Toy Shop begin next month. Last year, we helped over 900 Hoosier families with Christmas gifts, and we’re certain to have even more requests from parents experiencing recent lay-offs and job losses. Stay tuned for details of how your group or business can help Christmas wishes come true for Indy’s kids this December.

To those of you who participated in our annual Christmas toy drive – whether you donated a toy, hosted a collection site at your business or gave of your time to help moms and dads shop for gifts at the Toy Shop  – THANK YOU! More than 13,000 toys were collected and purchased this season through our Angel Tree and WISH Tree collection drive – you gave more than $15,000 outside Lucas Oil Stadium, online and by mail.

It’s a huge undertaking to serve that many families. Over 100 volunteers as well as on-air personalities from WISH-TV helped parents shop at our annual distribution day – our Toy Shop at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. And thanks to our friends at WARM 93.9 for keeping the tunes coming for those waiting to shop. That little extra Christmas cheer went a long way!

The need was great. While last year, about 700 families applied for the program, nearly 30% more moms and dads needed a little help making Christmas merry and bright for their families this year. We weren’t sure we could serve all who applied, but due to a healthy dose of divine intervention, generous mentions on-air by our media partners and some good old Hoosier generosity, this year was our most successful Toy Shop to date!

Of course, we couldn’t do what we do without our partners, so thanks to the folks at WISH-TV, the Indianapolis Colts, our Angel Tree and WISH Tree partners, our volunteers, and the thousands of Hoosiers who donated. When you sit around the tree opening your gifts next week, you can feel good knowing that your donations helped make it a Merry Christmas for 900 families. Now that’s “Doing the Most Good”!