The Soldotna and Kenai parish of the Knights of Columbus joined the national effort of the Coats for Kids campaign, providing coats to local elementary aged kids from Mountain View Elementary, Redoubt Elementary and Soldotna Elementary.
Knights of Columbus treasurer, Russ Grothe explained the purpose and process of distributing over 150 coats to children through the K of C and the Catholic Church;
“Donating coats for kids, needy kids in the community. They are all winter, brand-new coats. These are donations that we receive from the Knights with different things that we do. Then we purchase these coats and then we’re giving back to our community.”
The program’s purpose is to provide warmth for children in need during cold winter months. The goal of the Coats for Kids program is to ensure that no child in North America goes without a coat during the winter season. Councils across North America can purchase new winter coats at a discount to be distributed to the children in need in their local communities.
Grothe explained how the coats were dispersed;
“We reached out to a number of local schools here and the principals were giving out tickets for the children that they thought were most needy at this time. And they (students) are coming in here with those tickets and we are giving them brand-new coats.” , said Grothe.
The event was conducted at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in O’Neil Hall in Soldotna.
