More than 400 needy families in the city and throughout the region will not have to worry about staying warm this winter, thanks to some charitable community citizens.
Throughout its tryouts late in the summer, St. Albert Minor Hockey Association players and their parents dropped off coats to be donated to the Edmonton United Way’s Coats For Kids program. Just last week, the St. Albert Salvation Army Church began its campaign to collect coats locally for distribution to needy clients throughout the region. As of Wednesday, the Salvation Army had already helped 19 families.
“We are thrilled with the amazing number of donations so far, thanks to the Gazette’s story and the attention we received because of it,” said Lt. Peter Kim.
Over the next two weeks, Kim expects to be able to help approximately 40 families thanks to the outpouring of donations.
“Some of them are new with the tags still on them,” Kim said.
The young hockey players’ donations came about as a continuing initiative by the minor hockey association.
“We saw it as an opportunity for St. Albert kids to help those less fortunate in Edmonton’s inner city,” said the association’s secretary Joe Becigneul.
Back in late August, boxes were placed in each of the arenas where the youths were trying out for various teams. Becigneul speculated that over the six weeks of collections, other teams, apart from the association’s participants, would have seen the boxes and dropped off donations.
“I think anybody there, including families with kids in soccer would have donated. Everybody’s hockey tryout times differed throughout the week so there was absolutely no pressure. If someone had a coat that they no longer needed in their family, they could donate it,” Becigneul said.
A total of 399 coats were collected up from the 293 the group collected last year.
“We have 1,400 families and 1,800 kids, so to collect 399 coats is quite something,” Becigneul said, adding that he just recently became aware of the Salvation Army’s drive to get coats.
“We don’t want a duplication but there’s always a need,” he said.
The coats donated to the United Way campaign were to be cleaned by Page the Cleaners before distribution through various Edmonton social agencies. In 2013 the United Way distributed 7,830 coats.
