Scores of families left with bags of new or gently used clothes from an annual coat giveaway hosted by Wallkill East Rotary in Middletown on Nov. 9.
Juanita Velazquez, a single mother of three children in a local middle school, told The Epoch Times the giveaway reduces her financial burdens as she tries to get back on her feet.
“Everybody in the world has good days and bad days,” said Velazquez, who moved to the United States from Mexico four years ago and settled down in Middletown through the financial assistance of a federal rental housing program called Section 8.
“This coat drive is helping me because I can maybe buy one [for each of my kids at stores] and get a free one here so that when I wash one, they have another one [as a backup],” she said.
“I hope I can start working soon, and I am trying to get up again.”
Peggy Lucido, a longtime member of Wallkill East Rotary who helped organize the coat drive and giveaway, said that club volunteers made a special effort to collect kids’ coats via donation boxes at seven schools in the Pine Bush district.
Other drop-off donation sites included the YMCA, churches, and local businesses such as Orange Bank & Trust Company and Walden Savings Bank.
In October, residents donated around 500 winter coats, jackets, and sweatshirts to the club.
“The need is great,” Lucido told The Epoch Times at the giveaway. “People come with their kids, and you can see the gratitude and appreciation.”
Sherri Tironi, president of Wallkill East Rotary who helped secure the giveaway location at the YMCA youth center, told The Epoch Times, “In Middletown, there are a lot of people that need help who don’t have transportation and can walk to this central location.”
Andrew Allen, Wallkill East Rotary community service chair, told The Epoch Times: “Winter coats are an essential need, especially with it getting colder outside.
“Given the economy, people can’t afford everything, and if we can check at least one thing off of people’s list of things that they are to purchase, we are helping them out.”
Most people who benefited from the coat giveaway are from minority communities in the city of Middletown, according to interviews with attendees.
Souleye Ndiaye, a Middletown resident from Senegal in Africa, took his two children to the giveaway after learning about it at the adjacent main YMCA building.
“Kids grow out of their clothes fast, and if you buy coats for them, you are going to need another one next year, so this is really helpful,” he told The Epoch Times.
Isabel Sanabria moved to Middletown from Peru about 10 years ago and has been coming to the giveaway with her family for three years.
“I have a big family—my mom, my sister, my husband, my nephew ... and this is very helpful to my family,” she told The Epoch Times.
At least 10 students from Wallkill East Rotary’s Pine Bush High School Interact Club also volunteered at the winter coat giveaway.
“I enjoy helping others and bringing smiles to other people’s faces,” Justin Gamella, Interact Club president and a high school senior, told The Epoch Times.
Interact Club secretary Sophia Huang, an 11th grader, told The Epoch Times, “I just want to help the community and be part of the change.”
Two upcoming events by Wallkill East Rotary are the inaugural Tom Nosworthy veterans’ pasta dinner on Nov. 19 and the annual 5K Turkey Trot run (or walk) on Nov. 28.
