Partnering with Ibero-American Action League
Planet Aid is honored to host its 10th Annual Free Coat Giveaway on Veterans Day, Saturday, November 11, in Rochester, New York. The giveaway, sponsored by Ibero-American Action League and Planet Aid, takes place at Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School starting at 11 a.m. Typically, several hundred people attend the event; therefore, coat distribution occurs while supplies last.
In October and November, Planet Aid accepts coat donations at all Rochester area Planet Aid bins. Once collected, Planet Aid separates the coats and delivers them to our longtime partner event venue, Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School, for distribution.
Last year, the Rochester community donated over 800 coats at the donation bins, with another 4,788 pounds donated privately. In 2022, nearly 650 families received these much-needed coats.
A network of staff and volunteers from the school, Ibero, and Planet Aid, work together to ensure the event's success from hands-on sorting, to attending to the giveaway line, to getting the word out to the community by flyers, social media, and traditional media. On Saturday, November 4, at 10 am, Planet Aid's Upstate New York Operations Manager, Jose Delgado will be a guest on Su Hora Informativa (Your Informative Hour), hosted by Ida Perez on Poder 97.1FM.
Delgado will be joined by giveaway partners from Ibero-American Action League, President and CEO, Angelica Perez-Delgado, and Director of Special Projects, Shalym Nater. They will discuss the giveaway and celebrate the magnitude of its impact in Rochester over the last 10 years.
Understanding the need
Rochester is one of the coldest cities in the United States and winter weather can be harrowing, sometimes including several feet of snow. The combination of the weather, paired with a high poverty rate, increases the need for coat donations. The U.S. Census Bureau calculates that 48.2% of all children in Rochester live in poverty, which indicates finances are already stretched when meeting the most basic necessities like food, utilities, and rent.
Now in its tenth year, Planet Aid's Free Coat Giveaway continues to provide a sustainable solution that enables the city of Rochester and the surrounding communities to help one another. Year after year, the event cultivates the capacity for communities to invest in the lives of local families by means of reusable resources. The kind gesture has a double impact because it also diverts usable coats to those in-need instead of local landfills.
There is still time to donate for this year's giveaway. Just drop-off your donation at any of the local Planet Aid bins in Rochester.