by peter e. bortner
Salvation Army Pottsville Corps Lt. Staci Ferreira knows increasing numbers of people need warm coats, and she said Wednesday she is grateful for the Schuylkill County Bar Association's annual help in providing them.
"It's very important because there are a lot of people who don't have coats and don't have the means to get coats," Ferreira said as she helped package the coats collected during the association's annual coat drive. "It's really cold this year."
The association's sixth annual drive collected 109 coats for both adults and children, which were packaged at the county courthouse and taken to the Salvation Army's 400 Sanderson St. headquarters.
"The need is greater than ever," association board member Thomas J. Campion Jr. said while helping to put the coats in bags.
Association President Sudhir R. Patel said the association's drive helps a lot of people in the community and also enables members to clean out their closets.
"It's a win-win" situation for everyone involved, he said while helping to bag the coats.
Patel said his law firm conducted the coat drive for a year before the association made it a project. In those seven years, about 1,500 coats have been donated, he said.
He said he has seen the need for coats grow over the years, and that many working people are discovering they cannot afford warm winter coats.
"There's no doubt about it," the need for coats is as great as ever, according to Patel.
Ferreira said the need for coats is apparent at the organization's weekly soup kitchen, which is held every Friday.
"The good majority (of people there) do ask for coats," Ferreira said.
Amber Shipley, Salvation Army youth worker, also helped package the coats, and said the garments meet a vital need in the community.
"Some kids go without coats during the winter," she said. "It helps a lot of parents who have limited funding or tight funding to be able to provide coats."