Community drive garners hundreds of coats & hats
—Photo by MARY MALONE Addi Morikawa, 6, of Sandpoint was excited to meet Kris Crocker of KXLY Wednesday night. Addi donated $100 of her saved allowance to Coats 4 Kids during the local distribution event at the Bonner Mall in Ponderay.
—Photo by MARY MALONE Abigail Chandler, 14 months old, shows off her new gloves and hat she picked out during the local Coats 4 Kids distribution event at the Bonner Mall Wednesday evening, hosted by Kris Crocker of KXLY.
— Photo by MARY MALONE Brennan Odom, 5, tries on a new hat as his sister, 3-year-old Gwendolyn, looks through the pile trying to find the perfect one during the Coats 4 Kids distribution event at the Bonner Mall Wednesday evening, hosted by KXLY's Kris Crocker.
PONDERAY — Addi Morikawa was shy but determined Wednesday evening as she handed KXLY's Kris Crocker a $100 bill during the local Coats 4 Kids distribution event at the Bonner Mall.
The 6-year-old also donated five coats and two pairs of snow pants to Coats 4 Kids. Her "Nana," Jodi Brewington, said Addi saved her allowance since her last donation to Toys for Tots in December. Addi has been donating her money to worthy causes for a couple of years already, Brewington said.
"Addi won't let us buy her things out of her account," Brewington said. "She always wants to give it to someone else who doesn't have things ... she is a really, really sweet girl with a big heart."
Addi has $23 left in her account and a fishbowl full of change to begin saving for the next Toys for Tots donation.
Karen Battenschlag, area event organizer with Coats 4 Kids sponsor Tomlinson Sotheby's, said as of Monday, 503 coats, 46 hats, 23 pairs of gloves, 16 scarves, 21 snow pants, two pairs of snow boots and $330 had been collected.
At the start of Wednesday's event, Battenschlag said they were up to about 600 coats and hoped to see up to 800 donations by next week.
"We are so grateful for the donations — every one of them," Battenschlag said.
Donations were coming in slow but steady during the event, and anyone who brought in a coat between 5 and 7 p.m. was entered to win a pair of Seattle Seahawks tickets. The winner will be drawn Nov. 1.
Coats 4 Kids will continue to collect donations until Oct. 31, and distribution will continue at the Bonner Mall until Nov. 15 or when the coats are gone — whichever comes first. Anyone in need of a coat or other winter items can stop by the distribution center during regular mall hours.