Seaforth Anglican church sees tremendous success with free coat program

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Later this month - the goal is the weekend of Valentine’s Day - the Parish of the Holy Spirit Anglican church in Seaforth is hoping to return to its free winter clothing program, which has seen tremendous uptake this winter.

 

Mary Anne Snowdon, one of the two wardens at the church, says the program has really taken off this year after dabbling in it in previous years, with members of the public taking over 150 coats or other winter garments from the church’s donation racks.
Snowdon first brought the idea to Seaforth after speaking with her sister-in-law who told her about a similar program in the Grimsby area. Thinking that there were enough people in need in Seaforth to give it a try, Snowdon went ahead and presented it to the church’s board of directors, and they approved.

 

The team then began working to gather donations, first with the congregation of the church, but the effort soon expanded to the rest of the community and residents were going out of their way to contact the church and drop off donations. The spirit that got behind the project, Snowdon said, was really inspiring and continues to be.

 

The church began pulling the racks out and placing them in front of the church on Tuesdays and Thursdays - to coincide with the regular food bank pick-up days - and occasionally on weekends, depending on the weather and the availability of a member of the congregation to bring them out in the morning and bring them in again later that afternoon.

 

Some days, the rack was more popular than others, Snowdon said, with some days seeing one or two coats taken, while on others there would be as many as 10 taken. All told, she believes that between 150 and 160 coats have been donated over the course of this winter.

 

And, of course, the donations haven’t just come from the congregation and community members, she has made some retail connections that have paid off.

 

Early on in the process, Snowdon would drive around the county to various second-hand stores to see what was available. When in Stratford one day, she mentioned the project to an employee at Giant Tiger and said she’d be happy to discuss a donation. She didn’t think much of it until, several months later, she received a phone call from someone at the store who said they had several boxes of brand new children’s coats and pairs of snow pants. Those proved to be hot commodities, Snowdon said. The church has also had good participation from a second-hand store in Exeter.

 

Snowdon, a life-long member of the church, said the program has been a success thanks to the buy-in and hard work of those at the church who have given of their time to make it successful, like Steve Miners, her fellow co-warden at the church - and Helen Southgate and Bill Nesbitt, two members of the congregation who live right in Seaforth, allowing for them to get to the church easily on snowy days to bring the coats out when other members might not be available.

 

To assist in any way or to make a donation, contact the church at 519-527-1522, Snowdon at 519-522-0036 or Miners at 519-482-3692.