Coat drive provides for those in need

FAIRMONT - As prices on everyday items, clothes and gas remain at higher levels, Twelve Baskets is bringing back its winter coat and items drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3 to ensure everyone has what they need for the coming winter season.

Last year, Twelve Baskets had around 400 people stop in from Fairmont and the surrounding areas for a coat and/or other winter items. This included families with children, as it is limited to one coat per person. To keep up with this demand, Options Pregnancy Center and Twelve Baskets Director Andrew Bradley said they keep an eye out year-round and put some donated items to the side.

"We save the coats and winter items, hats, gloves, boots, [blankets], things like that," he said. "We set that aside, and then we do this winter item giveaway once a year for the community."

Besides this, Bradley said they take a day or two to organize everything, and then it's ready to go.

On all sides, Twelve Baskets is seeing the crunch and need for affordable options.

"They say, 'Oh, to go to Walmart and buy a new pair of jeans, it’s much better to come to Twelve Baskets for $5 and buy jeans,'" Assistant Manager Glory Rojas said.

"I think people are appreciating the value we offer," Bradley said. "We had a bag sale this past Saturday. For a big old bag, you could fill the whole bag with clothes for $10. What can you even buy for $10 [elsewhere]."

"I would say [we've seen more people]," Manager Wesley Miller said. "A lot of different faces, not normal faces. This place gets a whole variety of different types of people that come in here, and that’s what I’m seeing."

Over the time she has worked at Twelve Baskets, Rojas said she has seen the impact programs like the coat drive have on people.

"I can see a lot of people come here and ask for some help," she said. "They don’t have anything in the house, so we help people with clothes, blankets, dishes and furniture, that kind of stuff. For me too, they help me a lot."

This year, Bradley said they definitely have enough coats to meet a similar demand to last year, if not more. To have received such support from the community throughout each month so they can do community support events like this, Bradley said it is wonderful.

"I think it’s a great problem for us to have that we have too much," he said. "We’re very thankful for the community to give all that to us."

Any coats not given out will also be given to Community Options and Resources. Anyone unable to make it this Saturday has another opportunity in Sherburn, as COR will be having their own coat drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 10 at 330 ½ Fox Lake Avenue.

To be able to provide this for the community, Miller said it means a lot to him.

"This was my own saving grace," he said. "I really want to have a place where you can come in, talk to one of the employees, no issues, nobody’s getting in trouble. I want people to feel welcome. We help out any and all, and I won’t stop. I want this to be bigger yet. If we can reach families in towns over, even states over, that’s what I’m wanting. That’s what I want to reach out for."

For more information, call 507-235-6195 or visit facebook.com/12basketsfairmont/.