Coats and mittens offer warmth to the needy

Cabela’s Shared Services Department members continued their third year of bringing warmth to the people of Sidney.

This year the department’s employees collected a total of 266 coats during their annual coat and mitten drive to give to community members in need, as well as additional miscellaneous hats, gloves and other clothes.

“The amount we receive seems to be increasing each year, which is awesome,” Cabela’s Shared Service Administrative Assistant Angela Graves said.

Graves and her team dropped donation boxes off at three different Sidney Cabela’s locations Nov. 1. The drive continued through the month of November and the coats were finally delivered to the Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska building Dec. 13.

“We do this to help warm up the community,” Graves said. “Usually people have extra coats and things. One of our AR managers or head of department suggested it and we ran with it.”

“There are a lot of people who are struggling with the economy in our community. I have been having phone calls from people waiting for the coats to come in this year,” Brenda Dickinson, a Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska outreach specialist said.

Dickinson said that coats are available to be picked up and taken home by members of the community on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or on varying hours on Fridays.

Though Cabela’s team members were in charge of the coat drive, another community member stepped up to make the event a success. That person was Deb Lafler from the Clothes Hamper.

Lafler donated her services to the cause and washed any coat or clothing item that needed cleaning. Lafler washed a total of 18 loads of clothing this year for the coat drive.

“We collect and we sort through them and any that look like they need to be washed we bundleup and take them to her and she washes them and preps them for us,” Graves said.

Graves said that good conditioned new and used coats as well as hats, mittens, boots and other clothing items are acceptable for the drive.

“Normally outerwear is provided but we will take anything,” Graves said.

This is Lafler’s second year washing clothes for the event. The store owner who has been in business 14 years said that every year her family gives back to the community in one way or another.

“We’ve always made it a tradition in our family to do something for someone in need around Christmas time,”Lafler, owner and operator of the Clothes Hamper said.

Whether her family participated in Toys for Tots or supplying a family with Christmas dinner, Lafler said they have done it all.

“Even my grandchildren have gotten into the tradition of giving. I just like to help anybody in need. I guess that’s my goal in life,” Lafler said.

“This helps people who wouldn’t have a Christmas otherwise,” Lafler said. “I couldn’t imagine seeing kids run around without coats, hats or mittens on.”