Saint Johnsbury - On Saturday, November 5th from 9:00am to 1:00pm at the Salvation Army in Saint Johnsbury the 14th Annual Paul Sweeney Coat Drive will be taking place. This annual fundraising event is sponsored by Green Mountain Power.
The event is named after Paul Sweeney who organized the first coat drive for Green Mountain Power back in 2003. Since then, locals who need a coat to keep them warm have been able to get one for free.
Drive Coordinator Amy Gendron says the coat drive can get very busy. "We have people waiting outside, we have to put tape up around and we have people waiting outside of the tape to find their jacket. We've had people come the night before and this afternoon and like pick out their jacket and run for it that next morning."
Each year, hundreds of coats are donated to the Annual Coat Drive that benefit the community. Other winter clothes get donated, along with monetary donations each year as well that are donated directly to the Salvation Army fund.
Gendron describes what makes this event worthwhile each year by saying, "When you put a new pair of mittens and a hat on a young child and their face just lights right up, it totally makes the whole thing worth it."
Co-sponsors with this annual event are NVRH, Community National and Passumpsic Savings bank.