News on 6's Jim Giles' Coats for Kids campaign still needs donations

It's the 20th anniversary of a toasty Tulsa tradition. Giles' <b><a class="headlinelink" href="http://www.kotv.com/main/home/searchKOTV.asp?mainSearch=Coats for Kids">Coats for Kids</a></b> is

Thursday, December 15th 2005, 10:10 am

By: News On 6

It's the 20th anniversary of a toasty Tulsa tradition. Giles' Coats for Kids is celebrating two decades of sharing the warmth with our neighbors in need.

Jim Giles says Catholic Charities has already handed out 3,000 coats this season, but there are still lots more folks to help. They hope to meet - or beat - the 10,000 coats they distributed last year.

Thursday, dozens of families picked up hundreds of coats at Catholic Charities' all-new distribution shop in the Gilcrease Hills Shopping Center at 2319 West Edison. They had a lot of help from the 6th graders at All-Saints Catholic School in Broken Arrow. The kids collected a hundred coats, then spent Thursday sorting through the donations and helping point folks to a coat that would make a perfect fit.

The kids say being able to share helps put them in the spirit of the season. Alex Lybarger: "It's just like another gift you can give to people, instead of giving presents, you can actually give them something they truly need."

You too can help spread the warmth this winter. Just drop off a new or gently used coat at any Yale Cleaners before the end of December. They'll clean the coats and Catholic Charities will get them to families in need.

The folks at Catholic Charities say ladies coats are coming in by the bundles, but they really need larger men's coats, and of course, coats for kids.