Keeping people warm during the coldest months of the year has become a decades-old tradition for a group of volunteers.
Members of the Lewis Memorial United Church in Turner Valley band together every fall to collect clean, gently used winter clothing people no longer use to give to those in need through an initiative called Jacket Racket.
The collection of coats, ski pants, boots, toques, mittens and wool socks began on Oct. 11 at the church, Black Diamond and Turner Valley town offices, Royal Bank in Turner Valley and Alberta Treasury Branch in Black Diamond and will continue until Dec. 16.
“It’s one of our community outreach programs,” said office administrator Carol Williams. “Some people can’t manage. In the wintertime it’s too expensive.”
Williams said Jacket Racket has been an initiative of the church to find winter clothing for those in need for about 20 years.
“People come from the whole area,” she said, adding they don’t keep track of the number of donations or those who utilize the program.
“Some people bring their old clothes and get new ones.”
The majority of items donated are often jackets that fit adults, but there always seems to be a higher need for children’s winter clothing, said volunteer Ida Wegelin.
“We have quite a few for adults right now, but I’m hoping for a few more for children,” she said. “We don’t have very many yet, so if they have extras in their closets they can bring them.”
Wegelin said for each of the six years she’s volunteered for Jacket Racket there’s always been a need for the service.
“We’ve already supplied some people with their winter gear this year,” she said. “Our usage at the food bank is up and that’s part of it. There are people who can barely make a go of it.”
Some people bring their children to swap the winter gear they have outgrown for something that fits them better, Wegelin said.
“It’s a joy when you see somebody go out with a jacket that’s new to them,” she said.
With clothing left over each year, some is kept at the church for those in need later in the season and the rest is delivered to homeless shelters in Calgary.
“We always have some to pack up,” said Wegelin. “Why should we store them when someone else can use them? Once the people here have made use of the Jacket Racket we can pass that on to others.”
Volunteer Christine Bates takes her family with her to deliver the leftover jackets to Calgary each year.
“At the end of the Jacket Racket my husband, kids and I take the coats to the Mustard Seed,” she said. “They get to see this is where some people live and they don’t get to have those basic necessities. It’s nice that we can give back.”
The donation boxes are filling up and Bates has already taken some of the clothing to the church.
“I’ve collected quite a few already and hung them up in the racks in the basement of the church,” she said. “I’m not even sure where they come from but I’m thankful. Once every couple of weeks there’s a few coats in each box.”
Bates said her family donates winter clothing they no longer need or that doesn’t fit to Jacket Racket.
“When we are done with our clothes they are usually still in good condition,” she said. “I want them to be available to people who need them. We do find that most people find what they need. Sometimes they might have to take a coat that’s a little too big.”
Bates said she would like everyone in the region to know about the initiative.
“I don’t know that everybody with young families knows about Jacket Racket,” she said. “I just think it’s really important that everyone has a jacket and has boots and mittens because of the winters that we have here. I find that it’s really important to have this for our community.”
Bring your gently used winter clothing to the Lewis Memorial United Church on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If those days do not work, contact Christine Bates at 403-933-7016.
