Coats for Kids

I drove to the State Fairgrounds early this morning for the Coats for Kids distribution, sponsored by Channel 13, Tuchman Cleaners, and The Salvation Army.  They hadn't opened the doors yet when I got there, and the line of people waiting outside wound all the way around the building...and it was cold out there!

The coats are free.  Children have to be under age 18 and must be accompanied by an adult...and the children must be present in order to get a coat.  No one needs to prove poverty or anything else.  They just have to show up.  As in other years, ethnicity seemed to be equally divided between white, African American, and hispanic.  Unlike other years, the lines moved smoothly and somewhat quickly, since they had TWO coat shopping areas instead of just one.  We gave away over 5,000 coats today. 

One of my SATERN operators reported that she broke into tears when one of her children was acting stubborn about not liking any of the coats.  The woman said that she had fallen on hard times and had never had to do something like that before.  Her kids left with coats, nonetheless. 

Radio operators were there, helping with communications.  We were busier in the morning than in the afternoon, of course, but I don't know how they ever got along without us!  SATERN has been helping for the last 4 or 5 years, and we have made some friends just by way of being there and helping out.  One couple that joined us this year did a wonderful job...and the Salvation Army people loved the female half of the pair.  (I'm sure they liked the husband, too...but he couldn't stay all day like she did.  He worked the first shift of the event having been up since 2:00 PM the previous afternoon!  He needed to go home to get some shuteye.)  We all were invited out to dinner and a drinkie-poo with them afterward.  That's a first!  We went to the Broad Ripple Brew Pub, covering the clothing that identified us as associated with TSA.  (It would be tacky to be imbibing with TSA all over our clothing!)  Fortunately, I had an Indy native in the car with me who could get me around without getting lost (except for finding the Pub).  We came, we saw, we conquered.

Everyone went home full and tired.  My feet weren't too bad, but I wasn't walking as fast as I needed to.  Still, all of the bases were covered.  I'm sure there were a lot of families that went home happy today because their children have coats that will get them through the winter ahead!