Give coats to needy - and don't buy

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) - Many residents helped to warm up their neighborhoods with the annual "Warm Heart, Buy Nothing" coat program in Pawtucket Friday.

Neighbors were asked to clear closets of new or old but gently used coats and gloves they don't use anymore, and stopped by the Pawtucket Visitor's Center on Main Street to drop off coats for donation.

As the winter months approach, many people don't have enough money to buy a new, good heavy jacket -- which makes the drive so important, said organizer Arthur Plitt, of the Neighborhood Alliance of Pawtucket.

"There are a lot of people who need a warm coat for themselves or their kids. Some of the selections are brand new; some of the selections are slightly worn. Amazingly, it seems... People find their right size."

The neighborhood alliance said Friday they'd received about a thousand coats so far. The event has been around for about eleven years.

The donation event coincides with the national "Buy Nothing Day" activist campaign discouraging consumerism -- in the United States, on Black Friday.