Good Morning America and the Warm Coats & Warm Hearts Coat Drive- Gives You a Reason to Clean Out Your Closets!

While you are busy hiding gifts for your kids in the closet these next two weeks, look inside and grab a coat or two that you haven’t worn in years, or that the kids have outgrown and consider bringing it to the Good Morning America’s Times Square Studio or a Burlington Coat Factory near you. Good Morning America, together with their partner - retailer, Burlington Coat Factory are holding their Warm Coats, Warm Hearts Coats Drive in partnerhsip with the non-profit organization One Warm Coat. All coats collected are distributed to people in need at no cost! This 2nd Annual Event kicked off November 24th and runs through January 16th.

Think about where you live; think what the temperature will be tonight, then try to envision how it would feel without a coat, or sweater or at least a jacket. Thousands of people spend their evenings without these basic necessities every night! This link will help you find the closest Burlington Coat Factory to you! All types of outer wear are accepted: sweaters, hats, gloves, sweatshirts and jackets. With three teenagers in my house, I KNOW I have extra of all of the above that they have grown out of in recent growth spurts! Get your kids involved have them go through the mitten, hat and scarf drawers, let them pick out things to donate. If you have teenagers who can drive, encourage them to be a part of this, after scouring their closets, let them drive and drop off your donations. (They are always looking for reasons to borrow the keys anyway). Let them be a part of this and feel the warm fuzzy you get after dropping off at something like this! If you donated last year – hats off to you; but don’t feel too complacent, according to the Good Morning America, the need for these staples has only increased since their last drive.

From the GMA Website, “Since 2008 started we have seen the number of people coming in increase by 44 percent from 450 families per week to 650 families, and it is continuing to increase," said Paul J. Haagsman, of, In the Image, in Grand Rapids, Mich., which last year distributed more than 8,000 winter coats.”

With over 400 Burlington Coat Factories throughout the country, very few people will have an excuse that they didn’t have anywhere to drop off donations. IF you happen to NOT live very close to a drop off location, consider dropping off the same clothing at a Goodwill location, a just as worthy place to support.

From my perspective, with so much negative news lately regarding huge multi-million dollar corporations, it is heartwarming to see such large corporations have a heart and help this great organization, One Warm Coat while reaching out to their communities this way. Thanks for reading!

Hey, if Diane and Robin support the cause, it’s got be worthwhile! They are my two very favorite morning talk show personalities, so good in fact, they often cause me to be late for my job!

All pictures from GMA website.