Here’s how to make a winter coat donation to help people in need

As temperatures plunge this winter, people already on low incomes are facing a worsening cost of living crisis with tax hikes on the horizon.

There have been reports of people up and down the country forced to choose between eating or heating their homes, or losing their homes altogether. In many cases, it means the cost of a thick winter jacket is well out of budget. A coat donation is a small way in which you can help.

If you have a big bulky coat just taking up space in the back of your wardrobe, stuffed in a cupboard or under the bed, it could make a potentially life-saving difference to someone forced to sleep rough.

Here’s how you can donate your coat – or simply set up a place for others to do so.

Where can I donate a winter coat?

There are a lot of people doing good across the UK with national initiatives and local grassroots projects up and running all over the country.

Take One Leave One – now marking its fourth anniversary – is returning in 2022 with the same simple concept that made it such a hit last year.

Founded by investigative journalist and campaigner Stefan Simanowitz, the idea involves leaving a rail out on the street for people to hang up their coat and for others in need to come and pick one out.

There were more than 30 rails set up across the country last year from across London up to Newcastle and Glasgow while one effort in Bristol even caught the attention of British band Massive Attack.

A handful of rails will launch across the country in January 2022 – including in Leeds, Brighton and Manchester – with others restarting, including in Vauxhall.

He told The Big Issue anyone can set up a Take One Leave One rail in their area simply by putting out a rail and putting up a sign, which are available for a small fee for those who can’t make their own.

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WrapUp is a nationwide coat donation drive run by local Rotary clubs in partnership with the charity HandsOn London. In 2020 the project collected and distributed 29,033 coats to people who need them.

Human Appeal also runs WrapUp projects in Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Bradford, Glasgow, Leicester and London and the charity took in 5,466 coats in 2020.

There are also satellite projects run by Rotary clubs in provincial towns and regions outside the big cities. Further WrapUp initiatives can be found in Bolton, Brampton & Longtown, Bury, Cardiff, Central Lancashire, Cumbria South, East Lancashire, Essex, Lanarkshire, Middlesbrough, Salford, South Fylde, Stockport, Tameside, West of Scotland. Find your local project here or, if your local donation point isn’t available for 2022 yet, make a cash donation online.

Meanwhile charity Care4Calais is on a mission to provide a warm winter coat to every refugee in the UK and France. By donating at one of their many drop-off points, your coat will help someone facing uncertainty stay warm in the cold months. 

Is it safe to donate a coat during the Covid-19 pandemic?

Volunteers introduced a number of new safety measures in 2020 to ensure winter coat donation drives kept the risk of spreading Covid-19 to a minimum.

Hand sanitiser is available at every Take One Leave One rail and they are all manned by someone wearing a mask or visor and gloves. Each coat is washed and pressed before it is made available for a vulnerable person, and most donation campaigns still quarantine donations for at least 72 hours before distributing them.

If you’re struggling to find an in-person collection, consider donating your coat to one of the 8,000 Salvation Army clothing banks located across the UK.

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What if I don’t have a spare coat to donate?

Start a Take One Leave One rail in your neighbourhood. All you need is the green light from your community, a rail and a banner to let people know what you’re doing. If you can’t make your own, contact alan@adelphicgraphics.com to order one.

Don’t have cash to spare or enough time to volunteer? Help raise awareness on social media by sharing charity posts or using hashtags to signpost those in need to others who may have a winter coat they no longer need.

Do you know any coat donation projects in your local area that we have missed? Get in touch at editorial@bigissue.com.