Church’s coat drive keeps youth fashionably warm

Approximately 400 youth, aged 4-14, in the Denver, Colo., area are fashionably warm this winter, thanks to new and nearly new coats collected by Harvey Park Baptist Church, Denver. The decision to hold a children’s coat drive resulted from the church’s participation in the Missional Church Learning Experience (MCLE), an American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) initiative that helps churches look beyond their own walls to aid their communities.

“It was fun as we sorted the coats,” says the Rev. Kevin M. Lowe about Saturday, Nov. 3, 2010, when 20 volunteers gathered at the church to distribute coats to those who stopped by. “People would comment about the coats they liked. Everyone seemed to have favorites.”

Collected were approximately 500 coats of various sizes and styles. (“Some nice, white, frilly coats for girls; some warm parkas for boys,” says Lowe.) In addition, 40 coats in small sizes were purchased to round out the offerings. “We were surprised at how many new coats we received,” says Lowe. “And the quality of the used coats was very good.”

Response was so overwhelmingly positive that the distribution event began early. “At 8:30 a.m., our first group started to come and, by 9:30 a.m., we had about 50 people waiting, so we decided to open the doors early,” Lowe recalls. “It was great to see the enthusiasm of everyone—both receivers and givers. We had a steady flow of people and, at noon, our last family put on their coats of choice.”

One hundred coats remained and were donated to Community Ministry of Southwest Denver.

It all began with the church’s five-member MCLE team, which brainstormed community-project ideas using materials provided by ABHMS. Feeling called by God to work with area schools, the team prepared conversation-initiating questions to aid in discernment and, in June, met with administrators at three area elementary schools to discuss student needs. After sharing and reading Scripture, the team decided upon collecting coats.

A few affluent schools were asked to help. “This became a challenge because a lot of schools already had designated projects,” says Lowe. “We had to persevere to find the open doors, and God provided them.”

Ultimately, Harvey Park was aided in its coat collecting efforts by five elementary schools (Cottonwood Creek Elementary and Dry Creek Elementary, both Englewood; Bear Creek K-8 School, Lakewood; and Doull Elementary and Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy, both Denver); two nonprofit agencies (Denver Rescue Mission and Coats for Colorado, supported by Channel 7 News and Dependable Cleaners); and three other churches (Mile High Baptist Church, Denver; First Baptist Church, Fort Lupton; and Grace Community Church, Westminster).

Coats were collected from August through October. Coats that required it were cleaned and mended.

The project was important, says Lowe, because it allowed the church to reconnect with leaders of the schools in its neighborhood. “We are thankful for these relationships,” he says, “and are trusting God to direct our paths for future partnerships with these schools.”

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