Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, and four Catholic parishes in Fairfax County, collected and distributed nearly 7,000 coats for vulnerable neighbors after holding their first-ever combined multi-week coat drive.
The coat drive kicked off this year in the waning days of summer and heated up just as the weather started to cool. The “Warming Up Virginians” drive began three years ago as a collaboration between Catholic Charities and Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Annandale. This year, organizers raised the bar and invited other Catholic parishes to participate. St. Michael Catholic Church in Annandale, St. Mary of Sorrows Catholic Church in Fairfax City and Nativity Catholic Church in Burke joined the drive. The Knights of Council #11922 from Holy Spirit donated funds toward the effort, and reached out to the Supreme Council, which also contributed to drive.
“We are profoundly grateful to everyone who participated in this miraculous effort to help our vulnerable neighbors stay warm this coming winter. The coats, hats, gloves and scarves that were collected will provide help and create hope for thousands of people throughout our diocese,” said Stephen Carattini, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington.
“We are very pleased with the success of our drive this year,” said Patty Tang, director of parish operations at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. “Next year we hope that more parishes can join in our effort. We are so grateful for all the generous donors who made this drive a success.”
New and gently used coats were collected at the four parishes, and an Amazon link was available for donors unable to bring coats to a church office. For six weekends there were bins in the back of the churches collecting coats. A total of 7,404 coats were donated, though approximately 450 had to be discarded because of broken zippers, stains or general wear and tear.
The drive also collected 538 new hats, gloves and scarves.
Beginning in mid-October, the coats and other items were picked up and distributed to several Catholic Charities ministries, including Christ House and St. Martin de Porres Senior Center, both in Alexandria; Loudoun Regional Office Emergency Assistance; St. Margaret of Cortona Maternity and Transitional Housing in Woodbridge; Migration and Refugee Services, and the Mobile Response Center. The diocesan St. Vincent de Paul Council and St. Jude Catholic Church in Fredericksburg also received coats.
In addition, these non-profits were provided coats:
- ACCA
- ECDC (Ethiopian Community Development Council)
- ECHO
- Hijrah Mosque
- Hot Meals for the Homeless (FACETS)
- LSSNCA – (Lutheran Social Services)
- Northern VA Family Services
Holy Spirit delivered coats directly to Commonwealth Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Richmond to be distributed to victims of Hurricane Helene in Southwest Virginia.
Media interested in talking to organizers about the coat drive should reach out to Mary Shaffrey, director of media relations for the Diocese of Arlington, at 703-841-2517 or [email protected].
The Diocese of Arlington was founded in 1974 and is a thriving community composed of 70 parishes stretching from the Washington, D.C, suburbs to the Northern Neck and Shenandoah Valley. The diocese has more than 433,000 registered Catholics, 290 priests, and 18,000 students in pre-K-12.
The Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge was installed as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Arlington on December 6, 2016.
