The Moniteau County Health Center is continuing their tradition of giving back to the community.
This is the organization's fifth year operating the Coat Project, which offers winter coats to those in need from November to March.
During the months of early fall and late winter, there may be many individuals who unfortunately might not have the resources they need to keep warm in cold weather. That is why the Moniteau County Health Center has set a coat rack outside their building for people to both donate and receive.
According to Moniteau County Health Department WIC Certifier Leslie Peck, generosity can be very important during this time of year. The goal of the project, Peck said, is to keep people warm during the colder seasons, and staff at the Health Center are happy to see so many people give back to the community.
Initially, the Health Center hosted donation drives for winter coats, after which people requiring them would be asked to come inside the facility and request assistance. However, the organization found that by establishing a coat rack outside, more people would be willing to both give and accept help.
"By doing things this way, we want to be able to allow people to do it discreetly," Administrator Andrea Kincaid said. "I think we get a lot more donations this way. That coat rack had at least one jacket on it the week before last and then that Monday, it was completely full. People really take vigilance of it because when it gets low, the rack gets filled up."
Kincaid said every year, the Coat Project seems to be utilized more. With that in mind, she said while adult coats are always appreciated, any donation including children's coats of different sizes is wonderful. Children are always growing, and she said just one coat is not going to last them forever.
This is why Kincaid and Peck said they both are happy to see such support from the community. They said they have seen a number of coats donated for the rack throughout the last month and are eager to see what the rest of the season holds.
"We just want people to utilize it," Kincaid said. "It's for all ages, it's for anybody and everybody and they can even come after hours if that's what they're more comfortable with. (On the other hand), there's always people that want to help but maybe they don't have the money to do so, they can always put a coat out there on the rack (for those in need)."