Editor’s Note: This week, Livingston Philanthropies founder and director Jeff Friedman offers the following progress report on the Livingston charity as its annual coat drive comes to an end.
• • •
As Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) continues its eighth season of giving, and coat season draws to a close, it’s my honor to provide a progress report for our generous Livingston neighbors. Although we are no longer collecting coats and winter accessories for now, LPI continues to request donations of new toiletries and cosmetics, men’s dress attire, family clothing, diapers, new men’s socks and shoes. Footwear is paramount, especially men’s sneakers.
LPI’s mission is “providing for the poor, homeless and disenfranchised.” Last spring, Livingston Philanthropies achieved 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation status. Along with myriad donated items, we began accepting monetary contributions, as well. Contributions can be made directly on Paypal at paypal/me.jftnj or by mail to LPI, P.O. Box 247, Livingston, NJ 07039.
Why not keep a portion of your philanthropic giving right here in town? LPI is all-volunteer with almost no overhead, other than insurance and small business-related expenses. The outcome is that 100% of monetary donations go toward saving for a much-needed vehicle and purchasing items such as socks and underwear for the homeless.
We are pleased to report our eight-year coat donation totals. The results are gratifying. During the 2018-19 season alone, we collected 1,919 coats. By season’s end, Livingston Philanthropies surpassed the 12,000 mark in coats/jackets donated since its inception. Utilizing the conservative figure of three pounds per garment, that’s 36,000 pounds, or some 18 tons, of warmth. All this was picked up and distributed using volunteer vehicles and people power, which includes heavy deployment of my personal car.
These totals do not include thousands of winter accessories, toiletries, family clothing, shoes, many hundreds of men’s suits, dress attire items, diapers, women’s products, cosmetics gift bags, specialty items and more.
Livingston’s weekly newspaper, the West Essex Tribune, continues to play a key role as LPI’s partner. Each week, for eight seasons, Tribune editors have run feature articles and photos to promote our work and multiple initiatives. The Tribune also provides its offices as LPI’s donation collection center.
LPI commenced its philanthropic efforts by collecting just 300 coats in 2011. Like most things in life, it’s been an evolution. It became apparent that hotel-size toiletries are urgently needed by the homeless. Personal hygiene is attempted out on the streets, whenever a quick wash-up or ...
