T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM — Marshalltown residents get free winter coats during Saturday’s coat giveaway. During the event, 15 people were able to get coats at a time. By the end, 10,200 coats were given away.
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The Coats for the Community giveaway on Saturday brought at least 2,700 people to the former McFarland Clinic parking lot. A line of people waiting in line to get free winter coats stretched around the entire building, hinting at the financial struggles Marshalltown residents are dealing with. The event kicked off at 11 a.m., and people began lining up at 9 a.m.
Organized by Jake Rowley, Midwest team leader for the United Cajun Navy, 10,200 coats were given away to people. Rowley said he was not expecting the turnout.
“I was definitely surprised,” he said. “I did not think we would get rid of it all. I thought I would have some left to take to local homeless shelters.”
T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM — Ghiselle Granados, Jovanni and Izzan Yoder, Rozzalyne Granados and Lorenzo Yoder wait for their free coats during Saturday’s coat giveaway. The children were there with their mothers Mekala Yoder and Meagan Granados.
Mekala Yoder, 25, was one of the residents standing in line. She brought her three children to get coats for them.
“I think it’s kind of people to come together, especially with the cost of living nowadays,” she said.
Yoder said the need is apparent after many children in Marshalltown went to school without winter coats last year.
“For large families, it’s expensive to buy a coat for $50 for four, five kids,” she said. “It’s great that the community can do this.”
Rowley was happy with the results, and called the event a “beautiful experiment.” Due to the success, and the need in the area, he said more similar events will be held.
“We’re planning some events with seasonal themes,” Rowley said. “Maybe toys at Christmas, cleaning supplies in the spring. United Cajun Navy will be operating more in this area. They see a need here.”
He gave thanks and credit to the sponsors and the 50 volunteers for how smooth it went. Mosaic Church was a partner in the giveaway and helped people with parking. The sponsors — Brothers Garage, Exterior + Home Remodeling, First Interstate Bank, Hogeland Auto Plaza, Junk Relief, Marshall BWS, Minuteman Printing and Graphics, Premier Real Estate, Sletten Management, State Farm Insurance agent Tyler Peschong and UnityPoint – donated $1,000 each which covered costs such as transportation.
“I am really proud of the crew,” Rowley said. “They made it happen. Something of that size would not have been possible without them. This was an awesome community effort.”
Since this was the first winter coat giveaway, Rowley said some lessons were learned – such as improving the flow of traffic. They also will need to keep an eye on how many coats people take.
He said they want to avoid misuse.
“If we had let people take as many as they wanted, we would have ran out sooner,” Rowley said. “Some people tried to take two or three coats they did not need.”
The presence of Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper helped ensure order, he said. Tupper was there to show off one of the police cars, interact with the public and build some community relations.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet people and talk to kids,” he said. “This is a great event, and they did a great job putting it together. I think what this shows is there is a significant need in our community. So, maybe we need to think about doing more events like this. This is another thing Marshalltown does really well. We take care of each other.”
A video documenting the entire event has been posted on the United Cajun Navy Facebook page.
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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or [email protected].