The annual Jacket Racket has begun accepting donations.
Jacket Racket organizers are seeking more children’s clothing donations and will now be accepting Halloween costumes this year.
“We will be accepting Halloween costumes to do a Halloween costume exchange,” said Annemarie Tocher, Jacket Racket organizer.
The pickup date for the items will be on Halloween, and organizers are asking people grabbing winter wear or costumes to also bring their old Halloween costumes if they want.
“But the main purpose is to provide winter clothing for the cold months for people who may not have the ability to provide that for themselves and their families,” Tocher said.
“We want to emphasize the need for children’s items. We are also emphasizing we want gently used or new and clean items – for the event we totally rely on community donations.”
With six donation bins spread out around Cochrane, the Jacket Racket is accepting all sizes of winter wear items including, winter jackets, snow pants, toques, scarves and mitts – only asking that the items be gently used or new and clean.
“We don’t have the capacity to wash all the items and we do not repair the items,” Tocher explained.
Starting in 2006, the event began as an opportunity for people with low income and/or financial stress to have access to good quality, warm clothing for the winter. Nine years later, organizers say they see an average of 200 to 300 people benefiting from the program.
“We’ve had some comments on our little form that just said ‘thank you’ and sort of acknowledged that this is a need being filled and they appreciate it,” Tocher said. “We also recognize this is an opportunity to be environmentally conscious and recycle items that people aren’t using.”
Donations bins will be set out from now until Oct. 29 at:
- Safeway
- Cochrane Learning Centre
- Cochrane Alliance Church
- Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area
- Parent Link Centre
- Bow Valley Credit Union
On the pickup day there will be a form to fill out identifying how many people are in the person’s family and how many items have been taken, to help organizers keep track of how much was provided and how many people were helped.
There will also be activities for children at the pickup, such as arts and crafts and an opportunity for the family (or just the youth) to have their photo taken.
Organizers are encouraging anyone who might be struggling financially or know of someone who could benefit from this event to come and help themselves to the winter wear items.
The pickup day be at the Cochrane Alliance Church from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 31.
