Gear Up for Winter
Gear Up for Winter
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Our Gear Up for Winter initiative supplies winter gear to children whose families struggle to afford these expensive items. See below for ways that you can make a difference this season, helping make winter a wonderful time of the year for all Chicagoland families.
Ways to Support Gear Up for Winter
Help children stay warm this winter by collecting coat donations in your workplace, school, or in your community. Check out our resources to help make your drive a success—plus our team is here to help you every step of the way!
Hosting a virtual coat drive is an easy and fun way to help us provide 50,000 coats to kids this winter. Start your Coats for Kids virtual fundraiser, where every $15 is enough to provide 1 coat.
Help keep our Giving Factory shelves full of the winter essentials we provide. We update the items on our Amazon Wish List every month to highlight our most needed items, so your donations are always having the biggest impact.
Provide a child with all of the clothing they need to stay warm and safe this winter! Just $43 is enough for us to secure a coat, boots, sweater, hats, and gloves—or you can donate these items individually.
Drop off your new or gently-used clothing and footwear—especially cold-weather items—at one of our 40 Chicago drop-off locations. We’ll work with our volunteers to process your donations and distribute them to local children.
Sign up for a fun, hands-on volunteer shift at our Giving Factory. Help process donations and package essential items to help children get what they need this winter. Sign up with friends, family, colleagues, or as an individual!
Why Support Gear up for Winter?
- 1 in 2 children in Chicagoland are at risk of Clothing Insecurity and without access to winter essentials.
- The winter essentials that Cradles to Crayons provides keep a kid healthy and warm regardless of the weather outside—or the temperature indoors.
- Children are less able to regulate their body temperature compared to adults. As a result, children are more likely to develop significant health effects when they are exposed to environmental temperature extremes.
The Need
Winter in our region can be brutally cold. With energy costs skyrocketing over the past year, many households face “heat or eat” decisions this winter. Unlike food and diaper choices, families cannot change their heating source, giving them no cheaper option to switch to when money is tight. 87% of our Service Partners report that without Cradles to Crayons, they would not be able to provide basic children’s essentials at no cost to the families they work with.
1 in 2 children in Chicagoland are at risk of Clothing Insecurity and without access to winter essentials. Clothing Insecurity for children during the cold winter months means that without warm coats, appropriate clothing, and boots, children are excluded from outdoor recess at school, missing important physical exercise and playtime with peers. With your help, we can ensure we are ready to keep Chicagoland children safe and warm this winter.
Our Response
Our Gear Up for Winter initiative distributes warm coats and other essentials to families who need them most before harsh weather conditions become an emergency. This winter we will:
- Distribute 50,000 winter coats
- Provide packages of clothing to the 1 in 2 Chicagoland families struggling to cover their heating and utilities bills