This week’s Portage Life in the Spotlight, Marsha Moore, found a way to make sure people wouldn’t have to go this winter without a coat.
Moore, a member of the planning committee for the events sponsored by Portage Christian Church, held a coat drive in October to help those who could not afford to buy one.
The Portage Christian Church wanted to reach out, so Moore brought up the coat drive at a meeting. After talking with her Pastor, she contacted North Shore Health Center to see if they wanted to help.
“I saw a need out there, and it was a need that I felt wasn’t tapped into in our community,” Moore said.
For her, it was an issue that hit home.
She knows firsthand what it is like to wait in lines for things her family could not afford to buy. She suggested this idea because there aren’t as many coat drives out there as there are drives for other items.
The coat drive was held on October 27 during the church’s Trunk or Treat event, where church members decorated their cars and handed out candy to children in the front of the church.
According to Moore, people were lining up at 1:30, even though the event did not start until 3:00.
The coat drive was a big success, with around 300 coats given out. There were no requirements on who could receive a coat, other than it was one per person.
Coats were donated throughout all of October. Church families donated coats and donation boxes were set up at North Shore Health Center. Money was also donated to Moore by North Shore Health Center to buy new coats.
“The best part was seeing people be grateful. The relief on parents’ faces knowing that their kid had a warm coat this year,” Moore said.
In Moore’s opinion, even those that do not have a lot can always help in some way.
“Probably the biggest thing I took away was that there are people in the community that are struggling and to see that line demonstrates that there is a need in our community that we need to reach out to,” Moore said.