Each year as winter melts into spring, Doretha Simmons makes a tour of area stores in search of bargains.
Her goal: Buy as many coats as possible, as economically as possible.
For 17 years, Simmons — the director of Kids Plus at Unit 4 Schools — has been a driving force behind the Warm-A-Kid Program, sponsored by Champaign Schools Family Information Center.
The program aims to provide coats, gloves and hats for any child in need in Champaign schools. During that time the Warm-A-Kid program has served more than 8,000 kids while also donating used coats to the Women in Transition Program, A Woman’s Fund, Inc., and the Times Center for homeless men.
“I shop all year,” Simmons said. “I frequent the stores like Meijer’s and TJ Maxx, places that have zero exposure coats. I stockpile at great prices, and we have tubs that we use to house them, so we always start the year off with coats. I had almost 100 coats (to start this fall).”
The program exists entirely on donations — no Unit 4 money is used — whether they are monetary or clothing. Gently used items can be donated by dropping them off at the Family Information Center’s main office at 1103 N. Neil St. in Champaign.
Simmons was a teacher at Columbia School when the program was started by Columbia’s Hattie Paulk. “She saw kids coming to school without gloves on their hands, and she wanted to provide a coat to every kid who needed one,” Simmons said. “She asked the teachers to help.”
The early years were especially effective in providing winter wear for needy kids, but the support through the years has started to drop.
“When it initially started the funding was there and Miss Hattie did a lot of soliciting,” Simmons said. “The Orange Krush (Illinois’ student group) has been a supporter since Day 1 and pretty much the backbone of our success. In the early years, it grew each year and we probably had 400-500 kids who received coats.
“In the last couple years the funding has been low. In monetary donations we get maybe $2,500-$3,000 a year in total. We’ve had to cut back. We would usually provide 25 coats per school, but it’s gone from 25 to 20 and now this year we’ve asked each school to send us a list of their 10 neediest. We don’t know our funding source yet. We have 19 schools, and after we that we try to satisfy our waiting list.”
Simmons said business partners have helped, too, mentioning Macy’s as a “stront partner” that sells their coats to the program at a “greatly discounted price.”
If you’d like to donate money or gently used coats, gloves and hats, visit the Family Information Center or call (217) 351-3701. The most common coat sizes needed for boys and girls are sizes 8 through 16. All donations are tax deductible.