17th Annual Jersey Cares Coat Drive
November 1, 2012-December 15, 2012
About the Coat Drive
About the Coat Drive
It takes the hard work of hundreds of individuals and organizations to make the Coat Drive successful. Donated coats are collected by companies, churches, police stations, schools and other organizations and individuals leading collection drives. The coats are then dropped off at a Jersey Cares Container Collection Site located throughout the state. Finally, Jersey Cares and its volunteers organize the coats into men's, women's, children's and infants' and then distributes them to social service agencies for distribution to people in need.
It takes the hard work of hundreds of individuals and organizations to make the Coat Drive successful. Donated coats are collected by companies, churches, police stations, schools and other organizations and individuals leading collection drives. The coats are then dropped off at a Jersey Cares Container Collection Site located throughout the state. Finally, Jersey Cares and its volunteers organize the coats into men's, women's, children's and infants' and then distributes them to social service agencies for distribution to people in need.
If you have a coat to donate, please take it to a public collection site in your area. If you are operating a private or public collection site and have multiple coats, please bring your collected coats to a container site and Jersey Cares will take care of the rest!
Click here for a list of public collection sites. This list is updated weekly and is sorted by county.
Collection Sites Drop Offs – Please schedule your container drop off with Shaunna Rubin or Alex Perrette in advance via email or calling 973-424-1091. Thank you!
Join Jersey Cares as we continue to collect coats for Sandy Victims and individuals in need throughout the state. Click here for a list of Coat Drive Special Events taking place throughout the month of December.
Join Jersey Cares as we continue to collect coats for Sandy Victims and individuals in need throughout the state. Click here for a list of Coat Drive Special Events taking place throughout the month of December.
Donating Coats - Coats may be dropped off between November 1 and December 15 at all public collection sites. Check out our public collection site listing for collection sites in 
your area. Public collection sites and container site locations will continue to be updated throughout the drive.
Collecting Coats – Collection Sites can open to the public or remain private according to your preference. The collection may run for the length of the drive or for a shorter period of your choosing (i.e. two months, two weeks, a few days, just one specific day or event). Upon receipt of your collection site form, Jersey Cares will send you a Collection Site Kit which includes posters, collection site instructions, sorting instructions (if you choose to pre-sort) and a list of convenient container locations at which to drop off your coats. Register to become a collection site now.
Coat Couriers - Do you have a van, truck or SUV? We are in need of help to move coats from sites that have transportation challenges. If you can help out, we have needs in counties throughout the state. This project can be worked around any schedule. Please contact shaunna@jerseycares.org.
Receiving Coats - Please click here to register to receive coats. This is done on a first come, first serve basis.
Sponsorship and Financial Contributions - The Coat Drive is an enormous undertaking that requires financial support to be successful. Sponsors receive multiple benefits. Please contact the Jersey Cares office at 973-424-1091 if you are interested in becoming a sponsor. Click here to donate now.
Note in a Coat Program - The Note in a Coat program serves to increase the number of children's coats donated and to personalize the experience for children receiving and giving coats. Through Note in a Coat, children donating coats write short notes to children receiving coats through the Jersey Cares Coat Drive. The notes are individually placed in the pockets of each coat. The children typically write short notes saying hello, telling the recipient something about themselves, expressing their favorite memory in the coat, and that they hope the recipient enjoys the coat. The goal of this program is to engage children in service by making the experience more interactive and meaningful. Register to have your students be a part of the Note in a Coat Program.
Photo Credit: Craig Cutler; (c) New York Cares; The Coat Drive is a partnership between Jersey Cares and New York Cares. For collection sites in New York, please see www.newyorkcares.org