Coats for Kids campaign projected to help over 3,000 kids

GREEN BAY – As temperatures begin to drop, the Salvation Army has started this year’s Coats for Kids program, which is currently anticipated to aid over 3,000 kids this winter season.

The Coats for Kids program is a campaign to collect and distribute winter coats to kids 18 years old and younger which ran through Oct. 29. New and gently used coat contributions from businesses, churches, foundations and individuals are accepted at drop-off locations spread throughout the Greater Green Bay area, a process that has been conducted annually for many years.

Many schools throughout the county utilize the program to help students receive the winter apparel needed for the winter season.

“Around September and October, schools send home flyers, digital newsletters and social media links encouraging families to pre-register for programs like Coats for Kids,” Ryan Roethle said, an ELA and history teacher at Franklin Middle School. “Physical education teachers during outdoor activities, homeroom teachers and bus supervisors keep an eye out for students arriving on freezing Wisconsin mornings wearing light hoodies, thin sneakers or missing gloves.”

According to Roethle, a typical Green Bay Area Public School connects anywhere from 75 to over 200 students with full sets of winter gear every winter.

The Salvation Army’s website states that the Coats for Kids campaign distributed 2,759 coats to children in the Greater Green Bay Area in 2025. However, according to Major Catherine Fitzgerald, the Salvation Army’s Brown County coordinator, collection numbers were even higher.

“So last year we actually collected almost 5,000 coats, and so we were able to share those with other area partners to make sure they get to kids in need,” she explained. “We gave out over 4,500 coats when we combined all those partners...”

Last year’s coat collection exceeded the number of kids registered for the program, leaving a few left over to start this year off. With this year’s donation drive kicking off, the counting and organization process has already begun.

“Every week, we sort an organizing count so that when we get to that deadline, we know exactly how many coats we still need…” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald explained that while the anticipated number of donated coats is high, a common problem the program faces is receiving the right coat sizes.

“It’s never the total number of coats that’s the problem. It’s always, ‘Do we have the right sizes?’ Because we’ll have enough, you know, we’ll have 5,000 coats, but we’re still 150 short in men’s extra-large. That’s a lot of coats.”

The Salvation Army continuously updates their social media with what sizes are running low, so that donors are able to see which sizes are needed most.

Fitzgerald continued, explaining that no matter how many coats are donated, any kid who is registered will receive a coat.

“We have some sponsors for the event that give financial support, so we’re able to go out and buy those [extra] coats. We never turn a child away if they’re on our sign-up list and they said they needed this size, we are committed to providing that.”

“[This year] we plan to give out over 3,000 coats,” Fitzgerald added. “We already have over 4,000 kids signed up, but there’s always some people that don’t show up, so we probably won’t make it all the way to the full 100% of people who sign up.”

Although there are typically a few no-shows, Fitzgerald said that it is expected to be a smaller number this year due to rising prices in winter apparel.

“Things are just expensive, [and] families are feeling that squeeze. Our program actually has a capacity, so we won’t sign up more people than we did last year. However, we do expect our no-show rate to be less, like we expect that we will serve more people this year because, for instance, we had a much lower no-show rate for our school supply giveaway. So we anticipate that happening again for coats,” she explained.

Roethle also commented on the financial relief that programs like Coats for Kids can provide, saying, “Wisconsin winters require expensive cold-weather clothing. For families with multiple growing children, outfitted winter gear can easily cost hundreds of dollars. Relieving this financial stress allows parents to direct limited household funds toward rent, groceries or heating bills.”

After the donation period ends on Oct. 29, the coats are counted and sorted before being prepared for distribution day, which takes place on Nov. 6 and 7 this year.

“We distribute here at The Kroc Center,” Fitzgerald said. “On the morning of distribution, we roll in with a bunch of trucks and we set it all up in about three hours. It’s pretty fantastic how it all happens. And then, our event opens, and we have 45 families every 15 minutes, so it’s a very busy but very orderly process where everybody gets served and cared for.”

While she explained that the process is very fast-paced, Fitzgerald said that volunteers play a large role in keeping the momentum of the program going.

“We could not do everything with our small staff,” she said. “The volunteers are involved in counting and sorting, so every week there’s a group of about 12 doing that, and then the day of [distribution] we have about 75 for every shift, and that is four shifts throughout the weekend that we distribute. So that’s 300 volunteers… We couldn’t do it without volunteers.”

Fitzgerald further explained that for the children, the experience is much more than just being given a coat.
“We have shoppers for every family, so they aren’t just handed a coat. Every child gets to try a coat, [and] they pick the color that they like. It’s really amazing for a kid who doesn’t always have choices.”

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