New York Cares Makes Final Push For Donations As Coat Drive Nears End
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Thousands of New Yorkers in need are kept warm each year with help from the New York Cares coat drive.
But this year, some of those people will be left out in the cold unless those who can help step forward, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported.
Donations will be collected until the end of December, but New York Cares is not even half way to its goal.
"We know that we have requests for 100,000 coats," said Executive Director Gary Bagley.
Bagley said the organization still needs another 55,000 coats to meet its goal.
One reason for the deficit this year could be the warm weather, Haskell reported.
"It's not necessarily on people's minds that it's cold out," Bagley said.
New York Cares fell short of its goal last year too.
"We had requests for coats for 25,000 children and we were only able to collect 21,000," Bagley said, adding that it was heartbreaking.
Now through Dec. 31, New York Cares is accepting new or gently used coats at hundreds of locations citywide, including at all police precincts, Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal.
For a map of all drop-off locations, click here.
