Community Steps Up With Over One Thousand Coats For Wenatchee Children This Winter
The community supported the 2026 Coats For Kids drive on Saturday in Wenatchee by donating warm winter coats and cash donations to Serve Wenatchee, the local nonprofit that will distribute the coats to children in need within the Wenatchee, Eastmont, and Orondo school districts.
Coats were also collected at Peoples Bank branches in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee leading up to Saturday's drive-through drop-off.
The Saturday event in the Albertson's parking lot in Wenatchee is held every year on Wenatchee's Make A Difference Day, which is a nationwide effort to encourage volunteerism and support for community service projects.
Serve Wenatchee Executive Director Mike Malmin reported a total of 1,077 coats will be distributed through the local school liaisons, who provided a list of size ranges needed to help families whose children don't have a suitable winter jacket. Cash donations to the drive were used to purchase additional coats at local stores to help fill the needed size ranges requested by local schools.
Malmin said the average price for a new winter coat has risen about $8 over last year, leaving many families trying to stretch budgets even further to properly clothe their kids.
The Coats For Kids Drive is where the donations of new or clean and gently used winter jackets are collected, then distributed through local schools. Typically, one person may ask for a coat for their child at the event, but this year Malmin noted that dozens of people approached him asking for a coat, and he found that unprecedented and very concerning.
Online donations for the Coats For Kids, Baskets Of Blessings, Glory Of Christmas, Hope For Tomorrow building campaign, and Serve Wenatchee's general fund are possible through their secure website; ServeWenatchee.org
Coats For Kids was supported by People’s Bank, Numerica Credit Union, Harvest Pest Control, Hope Church for Wenatchee, The Fireplace Guys, McDonald’s, Crunch Pak, Eastside Pawns, and in partnership with the Wenatchee World and TownSquare Media
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