Coats for Kids fundraiser brings in more than 1,100 items of winter clothing
CHEBOYGAN — As Northern Michigan braces for a storm this holiday weekend, members of the Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Department spent their November and December making sure no child in the area would be cold this winter.
At different events sponsored by the sheriff's department and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #122, residents and attendees were encouraged to donate winter clothing items in support of the department's annual Coats for Kids fundraiser.
The event was started by Sgt. Dean Tebo and Sgt. Earl Manuel, Undersheriff Timothy Cook said. Now, the department and other county law enforcement work together to bring winter clothing to the people who need them.
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“They came to the sheriff and said, ‘This is a concept that we would like to institute so that we can stay connected and involved with the community and communities. It's all about kids,’” Cook said. “The idea was pitched and the sheriff told them to run with that. They contacted several businesses, and they put out the message, and they requested donations — and that year they did really well.”
On Wednesday, Dec. 21, Lt. Josh Ginop, Manuel, Tebo and Deputy Jonathan Hutchinson went to different Cheboygan County schools and dropped off more than 1,100 winter clothing items, according to the Coats for Kids Facebook page.
The program encouraged people to bring gently-worn and used winter wear items to different donation locations, as well as a fee for entry to different events.
The foundation hosted a hockey game — Cops vs the Straits Area Men's Hockey League — and the annual Riggsville Redneck Christmas Parade where coats were collected. The parade also accepted food donations for the St. Thomas Food Pantry.
According to the Facebook post, the foundation was able to supply students with 351 coats, 341 hats, 272 pairs of gloves, 55 pairs of snow pants, 23 pairs of boots and 70 items of warm clothing.
The clothes were distributed to children across the region, including at schools in Cheboygan, Wolverine, Alanson, Pellston, Mackinaw City and Onaway.
“It makes the sheriff and I very proud of not only the deputies and corrections officers in the sheriff's department here, but this is a collaborative effort with all law enforcement in the county, and they raise an outstanding amount of funds and donated coats to ensure that every kid, every child in the county has what they need to get through the winter,” Cook said.
Cook added that the department works with contacts in the schools to determine how many of what clothing items kids need, including if the items would be for a boy or a girl and the sizes needed.
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The department also collected monetary donations. Those donations are used to buy additional coats and necessary items. The department raised more than $1,300 internally during a No Shave November initiative as well, in which all of the collected money went back to the coat drive.
Throughout the five years the event has been going on, around 1,100 coats, 600 hats, 500 pairs of gloves, 400 pairs of boots and 300 pairs of snowpants have been redistributed to children in the county, Cook said.
“It makes the sheriff and I very proud that law enforcement in this county takes it upon themselves to do good for the community,” he said.
— Contact education reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Coats for Kids fundraiser brings in more than 1,100 items of winter clothing
