Late last week, in a few short hours, a spate of tornadoes changed the lives of thousands in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri and West Virginia. Heavy snow followed, adding to the already overwhelming circumstances. The Red Cross was on the scene almost immediately, opening 25 shelters to provide hundreds with a warm place to stay while they take their first steps on the road to recovery. Today, we’re thinking of those neighbors in need and encouraging our friends to check the American Red Cross website for ways to help.

Last year at this time, One Warm Coat won the “Share Your Cause” contest sponsored by AOL and the Cause Marketing Forum (CMF). As a special recognition, our President, Sherri Wood, has joined the panel to choose THIS year’s winner! The contest offers entrants a chance to have their messages featured on AOL’s Homepage and Sign In Page and in a Huffington Post Blog. How great an opportunity is it? Well, the day our Warm Coats + Warm Hearts initiative was featured on AOL Daily Impact, we had the largest number of web hits in our history! Sherri’s thrilled to be a part of making this opportunity available to another deserving organization this year. (Could it be yours? Follow the links to learn more!)

Are you new to the idea of holding a coat drive in your community? Do you have loads of questions? We know a lot of people who were like you earlier this Fall and Winter. Here’s what they did: First, they read through our easy, online Organizer materials. Then they talked to their friends and set a date. In the end, over 2,500 of them took the leap into coat drive leadership! It’s individual coat drive organizers and those from businesses, clubs and other groups (just like you) who have worked with One Warm Coat to collect and deliver nearly three million warm coats nationally over the past ten years! Need answers? We’ve got ‘em. And when you’re ready to “take the leap,” we’ll be with you all the way! Happy Leap Day to you!

That’s how Trudi Carey and her Twin Cups workplace coat drive partners were able to deliver warm coats to SIX Santa Barbara (CA) community service agencies this winter! Trudi enlisted aid from Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners, Patterson Self Storage and Santa Barbara Wine Storage to spread the word about the need and about her coat drive throughout town. Soon, as she tells the tale, “Everywhere I started to go, people were handing me coats from their cars!” In the end, she’d made so many new friends and helped so many neighbors in need that she’s planning on making a One Warm Coat coat drive an annual event. Thanks, Trudi and team, for reminding us that spreading the warmth is sometimes as easy as spreading the word.

When the team at Teknicks (NJ) began to plan this year’s coat drive (their second), they decided to address the need for warm coats two ways. First, they held a traditional workplace coat drive and encouraged staff and friends to donate coats. Then, they decided to “go social” about it! For each new Facebook friend who supported the event, they dedicated a monetary contribution to One Warm Coat. As a result, many NJ residents now have warm coats and our message about the need for coats will reach more people. Jeanine Kryzanowski shares that they “look forward to growing the tradition in many winters to come.” We do, too! Thanks, Teknicks! Your example of a new way to use Facebook and Twitter may just be the start of a new tradition in coat drives everywhere!

What do precious gems and warm coats have in common? We say it’s the “giving” …that starts in the heart! Recently, the International Gem & Jewelry Show warmed the DC/Alexandria area “…one coat at a time…” as part of a unique coat drive. All coat donors received free admission to the show. Later, donated coats went directly to the ALIVE! “private safety net” in Alexandria. This “gem of an idea” provided area residents with a unique opportunity to view precious jewelry and spread precious warmth at the same time! (A coat drive at a gem and jewelry show… sounds like the perfect setting to us!)

Today’s holiday honoring the birth of two beloved presidents is the perfect opportunity to share a birthday coat tale about a special family in Maryland. What do you give the 2-year old who has “everything?” Well, if you’re friends with young Jacob, you give a clean, gently worn warm coat! Jacob had a birthday party and the guests had tons of fun – and many nice, warm coats were collected by the time it was all done. Thank you, Baumwald family, for inviting One Warm Coat to join the celebration. The practice of caring for others can become an important family tradition. We are especially warmed by the example of giving that you are providing for your son.

Our national Warm Coats + Warm Hearts coat drive celebrates 1,000,000 coats collected and given away – and a coat from Nicki Minaj, one of today’s hottest music stars, made it happen! As One Warm Coat President Sherri Wood says, “We could not be more excited about the results of this year’s drive and reaching the one million coat milestone. Each year we’re touched anew by the responsiveness of those who are so willing to give back and provide warmth to someone in need in their community.” Click this link to watch the whole celebration … and know that YOU and your warm coats have made it all possible!

Check out ABC TV’s Good Morning America today for BIG NEWS from our Warm Coats + Warm Hearts partner Burlington Coat Factory! In this fifth year of our national coat drive, the staff at Burlington stores across the country have worked extra hard with our team to ensure that every coat donated goes directly to an agency in the home community. And our super-helpful agencies have worked extra hard to get those coats into the hands of the people who need them the most. We’re hoping to collect and give away 1 million coats this year! Will we reach our goal? Watch and find out!

Current frigid temperatures in many states remind us of the work that Professor Kate Hanson and her students are doing at UNH Manchester! They’re merging science with community service to make a big difference in area communities. Through the university’s Community Leadership course and Warmth From the Millyard program, students learn that a body temperature reduction of only 1 or 2 degrees leads to disorientation, lowered reaction times and dangerous hypothermia. They also learn how to solve the problem. (With warm coats, of course!) Congratulations, UNH Manchester, for bringing together the science of warmth and community service in an engaging and educational way! You’ve earned an A+ in our book!