Coats for Kids has given out 60K coats since 1995, begins 27th year

US Bank, 101 Gold, Community Action Agency of Southern New Mexico (CAA), Comet Cleaners, D2 Designs, Knights of Columbus and local Pic Quik stores are working together to sponsor the Coats for Kids program in Las Cruces in 2021, the organization’s 27th consecutive year of providing warm coats to children in need.

Nearly 60,000 coats have been distributed since the program began in 1995, including 3,000 coats given out last year, said Coats for Kids Chair CAA CEO Dawn Hommer and Campaign Coordinator D2 Designs owner Alycia Jameson.

For 2021, the Las Cruces Coats for Kids program has received a $15,000 challenge grant from the Carl C.

Anderson Sr. and Marie Jo Anderson Foundation. That means any donation to Coats for Kids will be doubled. As of Sept. 29, donations received for this year’s program totaled $9,500, said CAA Development Officer Mark A. Hohnstreiter.

Coats for Kids drop-off locations

Here is where you can donate new or gently used coats for the 2021 Las Cruces Coats for Kids program:

• 101 Gold radio, 101 Perkins Drive, 575-527-1111
• Comet Cleaners, 1) 2001 E. Lohman Ave., 575-523-6768; 2) 22497 N. Main St., 575-526-9511; 3) 555 Utah Ave., 575-524-1539
• D2 Designs, 101 Perkins Drive, suite B, 575-541-0202
• US Bank, 1) 277 E. Amador Ave., 575-636-6706; 2) 901 E. University Ave., 575-524-0033; 3) 3790 E. Lohman Ave., 575-522-9660.

“As we move into the cold winter months, we know you would agree no child in our community should be without a warm winter coat,” Hommer and Jameson said, adding that no child who needs a coat is every turned away by the program.

Coats for Kids works with social workers and counselors at Las Cruces Public Schools, the Gadsden Independent School District and Hatch Valley Public Schools to identify children, birth through the 5th grade, who need a coat.

“Check your closets for coats to donate or mail your cash donation to Coats for Kids at US

Bank, 277 East Amador, Las Cruces, N.M. 88001,” Hommer and Jameson said.

Coats for Kids was started by Karen Bailey of US Bank, who was the program’s coordinator until her retirement earlier this year.

For more information and to donate online, visit www.LasCrucesCoatsForKids.com.