coat drive

With temperatures still way below normal, the Coat Drive is continuing to collect winter coats and accessories for the needy, announced Livingston Coat Drive organizer Jeff Friedman.
Friedman, who is coordinating the drive for the fourth consecutive year, noted, "As of our last delivery, we had collected 1,959 coats. With what we have received since then, we've hit our goal of 2,000 coats." An exact count, however, was not available at press time; Friedman was planning to make an additional delivery later this week.
Friedman, who is known affectionately as "the Coat Guy," continued, "Even through we have hit our goal, we'll continue collecting coats at least through the end of February. Sadly, the brutally cold weather is staying with us, and sadder still, there are a lot of folks out there who don't have enough warm clothing to get them through the rest of the winter."

The Livingston Coat Drive is still going strong, according to founder and organizer Jeff "The Coat Guy" Friedman. The Coat Drive recently delivered 61 coats to Newark Emergency Services for Families, along with, he noted, "a table-full of hand-knitted winter accessories for the whole family, lovingly created and donated by a local knitting group."
As of press time, the Coat Guy and his Dream Team of volunteers have delivered 1,961 coats, along with hundreds of accessories, including winter hats, scarves, and gloves, to the needy, over the course of deliveries.

The fourth annual Livingston Coat Drive will be getting a boost from Chico's at the Mall at Short Hills next week. The retailer is working with Coat Drive founder Jeff Friedman and volunteer Candi Samansky to coordinate a coat drive at the store. The initiative will begin on Presidents' Day, Monday, February 16, and will run through Saturday, February 21. During that time, any customer who donates a coat will receive 10% off their purchase, along with current store promotions.
"We are looking forward to working with the staff at Chico's, and we thank them for their generosity of spirit," noted Friedman. "The weather is cold, and the need is ongoing, so we can use all the help we can get!"

At press time, more than 1,800 coats – 1,801 to be exact – along with hundreds of scarves, hats, gloves and other cold weather accessories, had been distributed to homeless and needy individuals by the Livingston Coat Drive.
Noted Coat Drive founder and organizer Jeff Friedman of Livingston, "We need another 200 warm coats to meet our goal of 2,000 for the season. I'm hoping our generous Livingston residents will come through for those less fortunate."
Friedman, who is popularly known as the "Coat Guy," and his "Dream Team" of dedicated volunteers, are busy preparing for their next delivery with pick-ups from the Drive's primary collection partners, the West Essex Tribune, Village Laundry Center in Upper Montclair, and West Orange Jewelers in Roseland.

Livingston Coat Drive volunteers were busy this past week, delivering coats and accessories in time for both the Saturday and Monday-Tuesday snow storms.
Founder Jeff "The Coat Guy" Friedman and Coat Drive "Dream Team" volunteer Candi Samansky delivered 84 men’s and women’s coats, along with bags of accessories, to Integrity House in Newark, just prior to the first and much smaller snow storm. "Generous Livingston residents, along with customers of Village Laundry Center in Montclair and West Orange Jewelers in Roseland, stepped up to assist teens and young adults who are currently being helped though Integrity House’s addiction and related education programs," Friedman explains.

With northern New Jersey firmly in the grip of winter, Jeff Friedman, founder and coordinator of the Livingston Coat Drive, has issued a challenge to his fellow Livingston residents: to help the Drive reach 2,000 coats by the end of February. “With about 1,630 delivered so far, another 370 are needed to make the season's goal,” said Friedman. “I’m confident that our generous Livingston friends and neighbors will continue to step up over the next few weeks. Two thousand will topple last year’s record of 1,500, which we’ve already recently beaten.”

The fourth annual Livingston Coat Drive will continue through February, announced organizer Jeff Friedman of Livingston.
Friedman, known popularly as the "Coat Guy," noted, "The holidays are just about over, but the coat drive isn't. It has just started to get really cold, so the need is even greater right now. I will suggest an appropriate New Year's Resolution for Tribune readers: search your closets, basements, and garages for new and gently used coats and accessories, so you can join your Livingston friends and neighbors who have already provided warmth and comfort to the poor, homeless and disenfranchised. The need is real, local, and immediate!"

The fourth annual Livingston Coat Drive, founded and coordinated by Livingston resident Jeff "the Coat Guy" Friedman, is in high gear. At the latest count, a total of 773 coats had been collected. "This is terrific," says Friedman, "because our need continues to increase right alongside the donations."
A steady flow of coats and warm winter accessories has been coming into the Coat Drive's collection points, including the offices of the West Essex Tribune at 495 South Livingston Avenue (next to ShopRite); at Adam and Wendy Slavitt's Village Laundry Center at 213 Bellevue Avenue in Upper Montclair; and at Rich​ard​ and Robyn Acceturo's West Orange Jewelers at 16 Eisenhower Parkway in Roseland, the coat drive’s newest collection partner.

There is still an immediate need for donations of winter coats and accessories for the needy, announced Livingston Coat Drive organizer Jeff Friedman.
Friedman, who is coordinating the drive for the fourth consecutive year, explained, "We've been going strong for a number of weeks now. But winter is, realistically, just getting started. So the need for warm coats and winter gear is still acute."
The Coat Drive is being conducted in partnership with the West Essex Tribune, whose office at 495 South Livingston Avenue (next to ShopRite) serves as a drop-off point for donations.