Special Winter Coats for the Homeless in St. Louis
Tax deductible
2018 & 2019 Winter Aid was a success and the response was unbelievable so we're doing it again!
“I was so cold I wanted to die” Steve said, as he recapped what sleeping under a bridge that previous night had been like.
It’s no secret that we have a homelessness problem here in St. Louis. There are thousands of people competing for a place to sleep at local homeless shelters every night as the temperature plummets below freezing—and the ones who don’t make it, like our friend Steve from Project Downtown, have to try to survive outside. There are hundreds of men, women, and children in our city that have experienced the torment of a subzero night with little to no high quality clothing. This winter is no different. If anything, it is worse than last year because of Covid-19.
Our organization is driven by compassion. We will never forget the News headlines from 2017 compelled us to action in 2018, 2019 and again in 2020 . The stories of a 54-year old homeless man who was found dead, frozen inside a dumpster behind an apartment building, on New Year's Day grieved us all deeply. Also, just days before Christmas, Grover Perry, another homeless man, was found dead in a port-a-potty where he had been living for weeks. Stories like these remind us of how blessed we are and motivate us to make a difference this winter to honor these people who have frozen to death in the alleyways, overpasses, dumpsters, and port-a-potties of our community.
We, at Project Downtown St. Louis, intend to help with this problem in a unique way this year. Typically, we ask donors to go into their closets to find clothing that they would like to donate for this cause, but we have decided to improve our efforts. Through a direct partnership with a clothing manufacturer we have been able to create special knee-length coats for the homeless this year. These coats are durable, water-resistant, wind- resistant, and double-insulated for bitter cold temperatures well below 10 degrees. The longer length, hood and pockets have been specifically designed to be able to function as a full body covering on nights like Steve described last year.
This is where you come in! We have committed to providing 250-300 of these specialized winter coats, gloves, hats and socks to the community this year and we need your help to do that. Each coat costs just under $40 which brings our total financial investment for this project up to $12,000! We would like to encourage everyone to consider the poor this winter. As you reach into the back of your closets for your own winter coats this season consider the hundreds of people just like Steve who may be sleeping outside with nothing but a too small, hand-me-down jacket with broken zippers.
Consider donating to Project Downtown St. Louis before this fiscal year comes to a close to make a difference and possibly save someone’s life this winter season through our 2020-2021 Winter Outreach efforts. To learn more about us, visit PDSTL.ORG. Thank for donating.
Take a look at these pictures from 2019-2020. And yes, we did get a permission from the individuals to share these pictures :D.
“I was so cold I wanted to die” Steve said, as he recapped what sleeping under a bridge that previous night had been like.
It’s no secret that we have a homelessness problem here in St. Louis. There are thousands of people competing for a place to sleep at local homeless shelters every night as the temperature plummets below freezing—and the ones who don’t make it, like our friend Steve from Project Downtown, have to try to survive outside. There are hundreds of men, women, and children in our city that have experienced the torment of a subzero night with little to no high quality clothing. This winter is no different. If anything, it is worse than last year because of Covid-19.
Our organization is driven by compassion. We will never forget the News headlines from 2017 compelled us to action in 2018, 2019 and again in 2020 . The stories of a 54-year old homeless man who was found dead, frozen inside a dumpster behind an apartment building, on New Year's Day grieved us all deeply. Also, just days before Christmas, Grover Perry, another homeless man, was found dead in a port-a-potty where he had been living for weeks. Stories like these remind us of how blessed we are and motivate us to make a difference this winter to honor these people who have frozen to death in the alleyways, overpasses, dumpsters, and port-a-potties of our community.
We, at Project Downtown St. Louis, intend to help with this problem in a unique way this year. Typically, we ask donors to go into their closets to find clothing that they would like to donate for this cause, but we have decided to improve our efforts. Through a direct partnership with a clothing manufacturer we have been able to create special knee-length coats for the homeless this year. These coats are durable, water-resistant, wind- resistant, and double-insulated for bitter cold temperatures well below 10 degrees. The longer length, hood and pockets have been specifically designed to be able to function as a full body covering on nights like Steve described last year.
This is where you come in! We have committed to providing 250-300 of these specialized winter coats, gloves, hats and socks to the community this year and we need your help to do that. Each coat costs just under $40 which brings our total financial investment for this project up to $12,000! We would like to encourage everyone to consider the poor this winter. As you reach into the back of your closets for your own winter coats this season consider the hundreds of people just like Steve who may be sleeping outside with nothing but a too small, hand-me-down jacket with broken zippers.
Consider donating to Project Downtown St. Louis before this fiscal year comes to a close to make a difference and possibly save someone’s life this winter season through our 2020-2021 Winter Outreach efforts. To learn more about us, visit PDSTL.ORG. Thank for donating.
Take a look at these pictures from 2019-2020. And yes, we did get a permission from the individuals to share these pictures :D.
Organizer
Project Downtown Saint Louis
Organizer
Ballwin, MO
Project Downtown
Beneficiary