New York Cares Makes Christmas Day Plea For Coat Donations
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- As Christmas celebration get underway across the area, some are working to help those who are less fortunate prepare for winter.
As WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported, several tables at the New York City Rescue Mission are piled high with winter coats.
Charles Blackburn picked out a navy blue one.
"Oh my new coat is warm, and it's the colors that I like, just makes me feel good," he said.
Blackburn, 57, was homeless for 20 years, Haskell reported.
"Twenty years I was on the corners, just drifting on the sidewalks, living on the sidewalks," he said.
Gary Bagley is executive director of New York Cares. The organization is still in need of 40,000 coat donations.
"If you're getting a new coat this Christmas, I would ask you to look at the coats that are in your closet," he said.
It might be warm out now, but Bagley said at some point, winter will arrive and people will need coats.
Now through Dec. 31, New York Cares is accepting new or gently used coats at hundreds of locations citywide, including at all police precincts, Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal.
For a map of all drop-off locations, click here.