Auriel Boeken wanted a coat with fur on it. She found exactly what she wanted early Saturday afternoon among three long rows of coats in the Jefferson Elementary School gymnasium.
Altogether about 300 coats, many new or near-new, were given away in a effort sponsored by Sonic Equipment Co. and Allen County Cleaners.
“We have some really nice coats,” collected over the past three weeks at Sonic’s plant, 900 W. Miller Rd., and at Allen County Cleaners, 1515 East St., said Megan Hageman, who spearheaded the effort for Sonic. “All we got were in nice condition, and there was a good variety.”
Some of the coats were high-end name brands, including Columbia and London Fog, Hageman noted.
“Some of our employees took coats home and washed them and Lori (Stottlemire, Allen County Cleaners owner and operator) made sure all they got in were cleaned,” Hageman said.
Anyone was eligible to select a coat and before the giveaway officially began at 1 o’clock Saturday afternoon, a dozen people, including eight-year-old Auriel, her brother, Rourk Boeken, 3, and their grandmother, Corrine Boeken, were rummaging through the piles.
In addition to the one Auriel found, with fake fur at sleeves’ ends and around the hood, Rourk latched onto a camouflage jacket, also with a hood.
Their grandmother allowed it was nice that others were willing to share.
THE COAT giveaway isn’t Sonic’s only effort to help others during the holiday season, Hageman said. “We’re also doing a food drive at work. What we collect we’ll give to the Community Pantry.”
The coat drive immediately was adopted by Sonic employees and Allen County Cleaners, Hageman said, when she mentioned noticing kids without coats when she took her child to school.
“There are a lot of people less fortunate, really hurting because of the way the economy is,” she said. “Some are out of work.”
By late Saturday afternoon more than 200 coats had been given away.
Those that remained were taken to the Iola Senior Citizens, Inc. thrift shop, 223 N. State St.
