US Communities Hold Widespread Winter Aid Drives

Community groups and volunteers across the Midwest and South are preparing people for winter by distributing coats, blankets, hygiene supplies and care kits to people experiencing homelessness and families in need. In Omaha, volunteers assembled more than 1,000 food-and-essential-item kits for Siena Francis House guests, including notes of encouragement. Memphis’s Joyous Connection Ministries is collecting blankets and travel-size hygiene products for unhoused residents, while Kansas City’s Project Warmth gathered donated coats and other cold-weather gear. In Oklahoma City, Operation Warm provided new coats to about 400 elementary school students, and in Lincoln, the YMCA and People’s City Mission distributed winter clothing after a record-setting drive collected more than 2,000 coats. Organizers say warm clothing and personal support can help people facing financial hardship stay safe and, for students, get to school in cold weather.