Connecticut residents who can’t afford coats don’t have to be cold this winter, thanks to an annual giveaway held at the Burgdorf Health Center in Hartford.
More than 500 donated coats were up for grabs Wednesday morning at 131 Coventry Street in Hartford.
Lisa Davis, who has been trying to get by with just a sweatshirt so far this winter, took two.
“I don’t have a coat this year,” she explained. “So I need a coat.”
Volunteers said that often, recipients become donors, and the cycle continues.
"Many times they actually will bring back the coats that their children outgrew that they got last year," said volunteer Tobye Karl, "and give those to somebody else. And they take new coats."
One man tried on a tan coat for size, saying he'd been asked to dress nicely for church.
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"Praise God! Hallelujah!" said Donovan Rhule. "This fits very nicely, just right."
The next coat giveaway – a joint effort put on by Saint Francis Hospital, Siracusa Moving & Storage, the Hartford Federal Credit Union, CREC Public Safety Academy, Betances STEM Magnet School and the North Campus of the Breakthrough Magnet II School – will be held in December.
"We're really happy that we can provide this service to our patients," said Karl.
