With the falling leaves and dropping temperatures, there’s no doubt that winter’s on its way. If you want to help keep your community warm during the colder months, one way you can pitch in is by participating in the upcoming coat drive at Warren Street Multiservices.

The drive will be held through December 2nd. You can drop off your clean, gently used gear at 128 South Warren St, Trenton, NJ from 9-5pm Mon.-Fri. They are currently accepting items for both children and adults including coats, hats, gloves, scarfs, and socks.

We had a chance to connect with Cassandra Sanchez, owner of Warren Street Multiservices, about the initiative and what it means for Trenton.

When asked what inspired the event, Cassandra stated “I just opened my business up in August, and in getting to know this community, I realized that I am in a unique position to reach many people from diverse backgrounds. As fall was coming to an end, I decided that starting a coat drive would be an excellent opportunity to give back, while encouraging others to do the same. So far, the feedback has been tremendously positive!”

Continuing on to discuss what the goal for the project was, Sanchez noted “The immediate goal is to make sure that every person and family in need has access to  a warm jacket this winter. However, giving shouldn’t be seasonal. I hope to create a template that can be used for different types of collections year-round. This coat drive is only the beginning…”

The proceeds from the coat drive will be benefitting individuals all across the community. Cassandra went on to explain “I am working with my dear friend Letty (@Theartist_letty) to source out distribution partners across all of Trenton. So far, we have support from Darren Green from Trenton Housing Authority, as well as two local church groups. The goal is to have distribution in each of the four wards in early December.”

When asked about how she thinks other business owners in the area can help better our community, Sanchez noted “One of the greatest rewards I have experienced in Downtown Trenton is the outpouring of support from my fellow business owners. We bounce ideas off of one another and frequent/patronize each other’s shops. That collaboration and camaraderie is infectious. We all know there is work to be done to push each other to be successful, but also we try to keep a pulse on the community and help out when we can. Every store-front we visited was enthusiastic about putting up the flier.”

If you’re interested in assisting with the coat drive or know of a community group which could benefit from the donations, please contact Warren Street Multiservices at (609) 994-5800.