(Nov. 3, 2016) Hoping to spread a little warmth just ahead of the holiday season, Victorian Charm in Berlin will begin its annual coat drive, dubbed “Coats for Totes,” on Saturday.
This year, participants who donate a coat to needy school children in the area will be given a Berlin tote bag sponsored by businesses in the town.
Owner Debbie Frene said the drive dates back about five years and was started because her daughter-in-law, an education assistant at Ocean City Elementary, noticed many of the students couldn’t afford coats.
“We got talking and I said, let’s do something about it. Why don’t we do a coat drive?” she said.
Previous drives covered all the schools in Worcester County, up until a year ago, when Frene said she literally “couldn’t find anybody to give them to.” Instead, that year’s collection was given to Diakonia.
“This year we thought, let’s try it again, since we’re doing the tote thing,” she said.
The totes are a product of the Berlin Main Street program, sponsored by and including the logos of two-dozen Berlin businesses on one side of the tote. The other side includes a map of downtown Berlin.
The totes were designed by Mathew Amey of the Wooden Octopus gallery in Berlin, and produced by Action Island. For $250, businesses receive 50 bags. Berlin Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells said Victorian Charm would receive 150 bags.
“We’re supposed to either give or sell the totes away, and we said why don’t we give them away if they give us a coat, and that way we can do the drive again,” Frene said. “When I did it in the past, we didn’t limit it even to Worcester County. If anybody came and saw that we were doing a coat drive and said, ‘Oh, I know a family,’ we would say, ‘take what you want.’ Whoever wants them can come get them.”
Frene said previous drives had been extremely successful, and that each time she reached out to area schools “we could accommodate whatever they needed.” Buckingham Elementary called often, she said.
The Coats for Totes drive will run through Nov. 23. For more information, call 410-641-2998 or visit www.victoriancharm.biz or www.facebook.com/VictorianCharm.
This year, participants who donate a coat to needy school children in the area will be given a Berlin tote bag sponsored by businesses in the town.
Owner Debbie Frene said the drive dates back about five years and was started because her daughter-in-law, an education assistant at Ocean City Elementary, noticed many of the students couldn’t afford coats.
“We got talking and I said, let’s do something about it. Why don’t we do a coat drive?” she said.
Previous drives covered all the schools in Worcester County, up until a year ago, when Frene said she literally “couldn’t find anybody to give them to.” Instead, that year’s collection was given to Diakonia.
“This year we thought, let’s try it again, since we’re doing the tote thing,” she said.
The totes are a product of the Berlin Main Street program, sponsored by and including the logos of two-dozen Berlin businesses on one side of the tote. The other side includes a map of downtown Berlin.
The totes were designed by Mathew Amey of the Wooden Octopus gallery in Berlin, and produced by Action Island. For $250, businesses receive 50 bags. Berlin Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells said Victorian Charm would receive 150 bags.
“We’re supposed to either give or sell the totes away, and we said why don’t we give them away if they give us a coat, and that way we can do the drive again,” Frene said. “When I did it in the past, we didn’t limit it even to Worcester County. If anybody came and saw that we were doing a coat drive and said, ‘Oh, I know a family,’ we would say, ‘take what you want.’ Whoever wants them can come get them.”
Frene said previous drives had been extremely successful, and that each time she reached out to area schools “we could accommodate whatever they needed.” Buckingham Elementary called often, she said.
The Coats for Totes drive will run through Nov. 23. For more information, call 410-641-2998 or visit www.victoriancharm.biz or www.facebook.com/VictorianCharm.