Coats for Kids provides 9,300+ coats to Indy families in need

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. Read more

24th Annual Coats For Kids Rises Above Expectations for 2010

After a week of setting up in the Exposition Hall at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, the 24th annual WTHR/Bob Gregory’s Coats for Kids was in full swing Saturday morning. Crowds were lined up around the building when the doors opened at 8am. Despite concerns about the lacking number of donations early on and the struggling economy, this year’s distribution was blessed with a record total of 9,326 coats.

“What a perfect trick or treat on Halloween weekend. The treat was 9,000 coats given. No trick involved there at all. We also had a lot of citizens donate. I think we had $7,000 to spend in purchasing new coats” said the man who started this campaign 24 years ago, Bob Gregory.

Approximately 300 volunteers gave up their Saturday and worked in shifts to escort families during their shopping experience at Coats for Kids. Some also worked as runners to replenish  racks of coats when the selections ran low. If you’ve ever wondered who our volunteers are, this year’s force was made up of several church groups, WTHR staff, and other individuals without whom The Salvation Army could not pull off such an event. Volunteer Coordinator Elizabeth Wilhelm said, “It was a great day and everything went so well!”

Once again, Tuchman Cleaners played an important role as the official drop off point, cleaner of coats and delivering the coats to the fairgrounds during the week of the event. On hand to greet the children were the Colts cheerleaders, Butler mascot “Blue” and Salvation Army officers.

“Our warmth goes out to those kids and families that for this year  have a new, nice warm coat. Thanks for the treat!” Bob Gregory, retired weather forecaster for WTHR.

Lumina Foundation supports Coats for Kids

Their $500 donation will help us give kids in need coats, hats and gloves before the snowflakes fly! And there’s still time for you to help, too.

• If you’re a parent, please check your closets at home for gently used coats that your kids no longer need. And please encourage your friends and family to do the same. You can drop off coat donations at any Tuchman Cleaners.
• Make a secure donation on-line here.
• Volunteer to set-up for Coats for Kids by calling Elizabeth at 224-1010. It takes an organized team to distribute thousands of coats.

Hoosiers have never let their neighbors in need down. We’re counting on our community to come out in full force to make sure that no kid goes without a coat this winter. And thanks again to the Lumina Foundation for supporting Bob Gregory’s Coats for Kids campaign!

Sponsors make Apple Fest success

The Salvation Army’s 7th annual Apple Fest was easily our best to date. And we couldn’t have done it without our most successful partnerships yet. Applebee’s, GFS Marketplace, Ricker’s and Kroger provided all the food and beverages so lunch dollars really could do the most good for the women and kids at our shelter.

Thanks to all of our community parnters who supported us with booth, table and promotional sponsorships as well – the Emmis family of stations (93WIBC, 1070 The Fan, B105 and Hank FM), WTHR-13, Complete Office Supply, Adrian Orchards, Two Men and a Truck, Huntington Bank, ComedySportz, Cartridge Specialists INK, Graphicon, Unique Home Solutions, the American Legion, Avon, HVAF and Indy Custom Cornhole. Bandwagon put on a great show, too!

And thanks to our community for coming out and putting those lunch dollars to work for a good cause! If you’d like to learn more (or buy one of those great t-shirts) about our programs that support our neighbors struggling with homelessness and abuse, go to HomelessnessBites.org

Kroger scoops up chance to support Apple Fest

With just a few weeks to go until Apple Fest, we were still missing a key ingredient – ice cream for our GFS Marketplace apple cobbler. Thanks to our friends at Kroger, we’ll be serving it up a la mode!

Just yesterday, we reached out to Kroger, and like their slogan, we could count on them to come through for us. This isn’t a small act of kindness. We’re anticipating a great crowd this year, so we’re talking about 1,000 or so scoops of ice cream. So, a big thanks to Kroger for stepping up to help us raise funds for our Homelessness Bites campaign that supports our Women’s and Children’s Shelter here in Indianapolis.

And don’t forget to grab lunch with your dessert….Applebee’s will be serving up roast beef or freshly grilled chicken sandwiches and chips on the side for just $5! Stop by the Ricker’s pop trailer and grab a soft drink for just $1. Thanks to our generous partners, all the proceeds from this event will help us provide shelter, life skills classes and support for women and kids who are homeless due to financial hardships or abuse. What a great motivation to ‘Eat in the Street’ on Thursday, October 7!

We’ll have plenty of booths to stop by including Adrian Orchards, Two Men and a Truck, Indiana Pacers Fan Van and more. Live music will be provided by Band Wagon. And don’t forget that coat for Coats for Kids – we’ll give you a FREE apple cobbler as your sweet reward!

We still have booth space available for just $50 or join us as a participating sponsor at our table displays for just $75. Call Kristen at 224-1019 to join us! And to learn more about how you can help us Bite Back, go to HomelessnessBites.org.

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