Cradles to Crayons seeks winter coats for 50,000 Chicago kids

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Did the snowstorm Thursday have you pulling out winter gear from the back of the closet?

One Chicago nonprofit organization is hoping it did.

Cradles to Crayons is trying to outfit area kids this winter—with a goal of obtaining and distributing 50,000 coats for kids.

In a warehouse in the Roscoe Village neighborhood Thursday, dozens of volunteers turned out to help Cradles to Crayons sort through piles of clothes. But there was no winter coat station, because there simply is not enough inventory for one.

The organization used cash donations to buy 20,000 coats from suppliers earlier this year, but they have already handed those out to their different partners.

So with a goal to reach 50,000 kids with coats this year, Cradles to Crayons is coming up short. Some of the organization's size-specific bins have a couple coats, while others are empty.

"It makes me wish we had more coats to give out to our partners for all the kids who need them, so we're hoping to get a lot more new and usually gently-used coats donated," said Lauren Stoxen, senior manager of production, planning, and volunteer engagement at Cradles to Crayons.

A volunteer at Cradles to Crayons every Thursday, Pat Oleck said that she knows the importance of getting kids the right clothes as a retired Chicago school teacher of 34 years.

"I did see kids coming to come to school with no warm clothing—and it's heartbreaking," Oleck said, "and it shouldn't happen in a big city in 2024, so this is a really needed project."

The needed project now needs help.

Volunteers are hopeful the bins at the warehouse will fill up for a future visit, so they can wrap up the coats and put a wrap their lofty goal.

Anyone interested in helping Cradles to Crayons' winter coat drive can find more information here.