Bundling Joy Through Coats for Kids
by Robert Mitchell
Major Thomas Hinzman still remembers a chilly October day a few years ago when a family with three small children came into The Salvation Army in Lancaster, Pa., looking for warm coats. None had a coat on when they arrived.
Through the Coats for Kids program offered by The Salvation Army in Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna Valley, all three left with new coats, hats, gloves, and scarves. The children were so happy they requested a photo with Hinzman. But he lamented that he hears “children are going without” in some cases.
“Many of the parents who come in say their kids outgrow their clothing so fast that they just can’t afford it with the cost of living the way it is, and they just couldn’t provide it without the help of The Salvation Army,” Hinzman said.
Coats for Kids, now in its 30th year, is a partnership with WGAL-TV 8 in Lancaster. The station will broadcast a fundraising telethon Dec. 9–13 to raise funds that are given to The Salvation Army to buy coats for corps in Lancaster, Carlisle, Lebanon, York, and Harrisburg in Pennsylvania.
A combined effort
Hinzman said the Lancaster Salvation Army gave away 1,800 coats last October and another 113 between November and April for a total of 1,913.
“We try to keep 3,000 coats on hand,” Hinzman said. “The biggest chunk go out during our distribution in October. We give them out through April if anybody misses the distribution.”
WGAL raised $130,000 in 2023, and The Salvation Army purchased coats at Boscov’s, BJ’s, and Costco. Some of the coats would regularly cost $70 at retail, but The Salvation Army can sometimes get them for as low as $8.95 to replenish the stock after the October distribution.
“We raise the money in December and then we purchase coats after they go on sale after the holidays,” Hinzman said. “We get really good deals. We buy as many different sizes as we can.”
Coats for Kids is for preschoolers to age 16, but if an adult needs a coat, they are given a voucher to get one at a Salvation Army thrift store.
A new coat can make all the difference in the life of a kid trying to fit in at school.
“The thing about providing a new coat for the kids is it’s a dignity thing,” Hinzman said. “A lot of times when kids go to school, they are accepted or not accepted or picked on because of clothing and not having the proper attire. One of the things we like to do is make sure every child not only has a warm coat to keep them protected in the winter, but also to make them feel good about themselves.”
Meeting real needs
Gloves, hats, scarves, and even blankets knitted by women in the Lancaster area are also given away to needy children, Hinzman said.
Many of the backstories he hears from clients are heartbreaking.
One father, who identified himself only as Terry, said, “Men find it very difficult to seek help without feeling inadequate, but The Salvation Army helped me to be a better husband and father when I needed to provide what I couldn’t—coats for my children.”
Volunteers from the Lancaster Salvation Army are full of stories about children who’ve been helped by Coats for Kids, like the 4-year-old girl who received her very first pair of gloves.
Families are often overwhelmed with gratitude. One volunteer remembered a single mom who brought in her three children.
“The children were quite excited as they saw the many coats on racks that would be available to them,” the volunteer said. “The mom was equally excited to think her children would each be given a brand-new coat, never worn or owned by another, to keep the cold away. The family looked around and each found their dream coat.
“They were strutting around, looking into the mirror, and you could see their self-esteem rising. It was hard for them to believe this was their very own coat, and as the mom shared, these coats would be the first brand-new coats they had ever owned.”
Later, volunteers from the corps called the family to take part in the Adopt-a-Family Christmas program.
“As soon as we identified ourselves, the mom was bursting with joy and said, ‘I wish you could see these kids. They are still wearing the new coats. The scarves and hats have not left their heads. This is a happy household tonight. I’m sure they will want to sleep in them!’”
More blessings
Another mother came in for coats, and when asked if she needed anything else, she explained to the volunteers that her children slept on the floor with no blankets and used jackets, sweaters, and towels as covers. The day before, a local quilter had given The Salvation Army four new quilts, which quickly found a home.
“She was moved to tears, even breathlessness, as she considered the look on the faces of her children when they arrived home from school that day and saw they each had a new coat and a puffy quilt, which could serve as a mattress on one side and a cover on the top side similar to a sleeping bag,” a volunteer said.
Hinzman sometimes prays with the families who come in for coats and offers encouragement and information about the corps, where he and his wife, Major Susan Hinzman, have served since 2022.
“Last year, some of the kids who came in for coats started coming to the corps for different activities,” he said. “Some went to camp. Some are in our music programs now. We’ve seen a crossover from the people we serve coming in for different activities of the corps. That’s a goal that we have here in Lancaster.”
For more about The Salvation Army in Lancaster and the Coats for Kids program, go to: pa.salvationarmy.org/lancaster-pa
