The Washington University Police Department is once again teaming up with the Kurt Warner First Things First Foundation and Operation Food Search for the 12th annual Warners’ Warm-up Winter Coat Drive.
The coat drive takes place from Thursday, Nov. 1, through Wednesday, Nov. 14. The WUSTL police station will serve as a drop-off location for students, faculty, staff and others to donate new or gently used winter coats for men, women and children.
The police station is located in Lien House on Shepley Drive in the South 40 on the Danforth Campus. Those who are unable to get to the station may arrange to have their donations picked up.
Operation Food Search will distribute the coats to those who need them via local homeless shelters, schools and social service centers.
The program began in 2001 by then-St. Louis Rams Super Bowl-winning quarterback Kurt Warner and his wife, Brenda, as a one-day drive prior to a Rams game. Since then, it has turned into a two-week community-wide effort with hundreds of regional drop-off locations.
More than 150,000 coats have been donated to Warners’ Warm-up.
“We are proud to once again take part in what has become a dependable resource for disadvantaged men, women and children in the bi-state region,” says Don Strom, chief of the WUSTL Police Department. “We encourage everyone to donate and help us spread the word by telling family, friends and neighbors about this opportunity to give back to the community.”
For more information on the coat drive at WUSTL or to arrange a pick-up, contact Wendy Oloteo at (314) 935-7698 or wendy_oloteo@wustl.edu.
For more information on Warners’ Warm-up, visit kurtwarner.org.