With coat weather having arrived, the fourth annual Livingston Coat Drive has announced there is an immediate need for donations of winter coats and accessories for the needy.
The Coat Drive is being conducted in partnership with the West Essex Tribune, which serves as a drop-off point for donations.
Livingston resident Jeff "The Coat Guy" Friedman and his Coat Drive "Dream Team" of volunteers each week deliver donations of gently used and new winter coats, gloves, scarves and hats to a variety of distribution partners in Newark and East Orange. These distribution partners range from social service agencies to churches and soup kitchens. One thing they all have in common is a mission to help the very poor and the homeless in our area. "We have already made our third delivery of the season to the Dutch Reformed Church in Newark," noted Friedman. "I want all of our donors to know that the items they donate go immediately to families who are in dire need."
Friedman explained, "Winter is coming fast. According to NJ.com weather blogger Stephen Stirling, it's going to get sharply colder later this week. By Friday, it's predicted that high temperatures will only be in the mid-40s, while overnight lows will be below freezing in most areas. The time for coats is now!"
Recently joining forces with the Coat Guy was the St. Philomena Church Sharing Office. Each year, Sister Barbara Howard, S.S.J., coordinates a parish coat drive. This time, the coats will go to the Livingston Coat Drive for immediate distribution to those in need.
In addition, Richard and Robyn Acceturo, owners of West Orange Jewelers in Roseland, have offered their store as a Coat Drive collection point.
The Coat Drive has also welcomed two new volunteers to its "Dream Team," Candi Samansky of Livingston and the Coat Guy's sister-in-law, Joyce Friedman of Montclair. They join Livingston residents Bob Gebroe and Adam Slavitt and Caldwell resident Rick Levin in helping the Coat Guy fulfill his goal of "providing warmth to the poor, homeless and disenfranchised."
Slavitt not only offers his Upper Montclair dry cleaning business, Village Laundry Center, as a drop-off site for coat donations, he also helps the cause through his role as president of the Livingston Football Parents' Association. For the second consecutive year, he and his wife, Wendy, coordinated a collection of coats, hats, gloves and scarves at a Lancer home football game.
"The Coat Drive is a team ...
