Beebe coat drive starts early in anticipation of cold winter

Morgan Hall, shown at The Junk House in Beebe, holds up a coat as part of the Beebe Chamber of Commerce’s third annual Coat Drive for Kids. The Junk House is one drop-off location for the coat drive.
Morgan Hall, shown at The Junk House in Beebe, holds up a coat as part of the Beebe Chamber of Commerce’s third annual Coat Drive for Kids. The Junk House is one drop-off location for the coat drive.

BEEBE — Last year, when the first day of cold weather came earlier than expected, some children in central Arkansas were without coats. In an effort to avoid the same problem this year, Kristen Boswell, executive director of the Beebe Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber’s third annual coat drive has already started.

“Last year we had a cold snap in October and felt like we almost started too late,” she said. “That’s why we decided to start early this year.”

Area businesses recently set up drop points for clean new and gently-used coats, sweaters, jackets, hats, gloves and scarves. The donations will be distributed to children through the Beebe Public Schools.

Morgan Hall, co-owner of The Junk House Flea Market on North Main Street, is one of the local business owners who will have a drop point for the coats. Last year was Hall’s first year in business, and this will be The Junk House’s second year to participate in the coat drive.

“We had a lot of participation last year, and I expect no different this year,” he said. “The need started very early last year, and it will probably do the same this year.”

Hall said it is important for people in the community to support one another, and the coat drive is one way to do that.

“We’re reaching kids in our area and in our community,” he said. “We know exactly where the coats are going, and the families here don’t have to go looking in another community to fill this need.”

The chamber works with counselors in the Beebe Public Schools to make sure the donations get to children and families in need. School counselors are often the go-to school employees for charitable distributions because they usually have a good idea of which students and families could benefit from donations.

“I work with the school counselors to let them know when I get the coats in,” Boswell said. “They have the lists of families in need. We will collect and organize the donations, and the counselors will come by and pick them up.”

Any extra donations not utilized by families in the Beebe Public Schools will be donated to the Community Outreach Center.

Boswell said the chamber started the coat drive in 2012 after she became executive director of the organization.

“I was visiting with our treasurer, and we felt compelled to do something in our community,” she said. “We’re a presence in the community, so we decided to go for it.”

Since that first year, Boswell said, the coat drive has continued to grow in participation. Last year, more than 300 coats were donated, and organizers expect this year’s donations to start pouring in soon.

“We just have a very generous and loving community,” Boswell said.

The coat drive will continue until Oct. 31. Drop-off locations can be found at the Beebe City Hall, A Perfect Bloom Florist and Interiors, Dunlap Chiropractic, Merle Norman Cosmetics and Boutique, Beebe Family Dentistry, The Junk House Flea Market and Beebe Physical Therapy.

For more information, call the Beebe Chamber of Commerce at (501)882-8135.

Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.

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