Welcome to Kids Who Care, a coat drive project for very young children and their families!
Through a series of basic activities over a three-week span, preschool teachers, parents and caregivers help young children collect and distribute gently used warm coats. Together, they make a real and lasting difference in the lives of their neighbors and friends.
Project Goals
One Warm Coat’s mission is to provide a warm coat – free of charge – to anyone who needs one.
The Kids Who Care coat drive program is designed to:
• Teach children, parents and caregivers about the need for warm coats in their home communities and how easy it is to make a difference.
• Show children that they can be an important part of a community service project, even though they are very young.
Learning Objectives
A pre-school-based coat drive offers learning opportunities for both children and parents/caregivers.
Children will learn that:
• Their neighbors may be in need
• They can help, even if they’re very young
Parents/caregivers will learn that:
• Their children and the people who care for them care about helping others
• It’s easy to help when you work together
View or download the full three week lesson plan..
What a Teacher Needs to Know
Once your school’s coat drive is registered in the One Warm Coat system, our free Tools & Resources will help you get organized from start to finish.
Who gets the coats?
Coats stay in the community where they are collected. They are given to people who need them the most.
How do the coats get to the people in need?
One Warm Coat works with community service agencies across the U.S. Your team will use our Agency Locator and choose an agency in your area to receive your coats. That agency’s staff will ensure that people in need receive your coats.
About One Warm Coat-approved Agencies
We require that agencies who receive coats from us and our Organizers:
• Agree to give way coats free of charge (never sell them in a thrift shop, for example)
• Register with us online.
What if there’s no One Warm Coat agency registered in my community?
Please recommend an agency near you. Remember to talk with them about our requirements (stated above). Registering in our system is their way of telling us that they agree with our requirements. It also enables additional coat drive Organizers to find them through our website.
What Your School Team Determines
• When and where to hold your drive
• What agency you will work with
• How to promote your drive in your community
What One Warm Coat Provides
Once a coat drive is registered in our system One Warm Coat provides a variety of helpful tools, including:
• Instructions for organizing, free Tools & Resources, including downloadable flyers, press releases and photo releases for adults and children.
• A Promo Pack (sent via U.S. mail) that includes a banner, collection box labels and more. (Note: You are responsible for your own collection boxes and storage bags.)
• A free listing on our national online Coat Drive Locator
View or download the full three week lesson plan.
