It was a snowy day in late October of 1998 when Donna Nivison, a home economics teacher at 100 Mile Jr. High School, noticed a few brightly-coloured new ski jackets and asked her class: “How many of you got a new jacket every year for the past five years?”
Twenty out of 30 students in the class replied “Yes,” they had.
Thinking with the students of an idea about what could be done with the excess of slightly older coats at home, the Coats for Kids program began.
Jackets and coats trickled in: “Hey, Mrs. Nivision, I brought three coats!”
Then toques, scarves and mittens came, and the students asked: “Where should we put them?”
They still had to have their food and nutrition labs and clothing and textiles tables for coursework, so students went up on the tables.
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They strung a narrow rope across the pipes near the ceiling, making a criss-cross of clotheslines. Clothespins held the coats, and sewing students fixed the odd tear or broken zipper and replaced missing buttons.
As more and more donations came in — now supported by CKBX and CFFM radio stations and the 100 Mile Free Press — they maintained a steady trip downstairs to the laundry room in the school’s basement to wash coats that were tagged “not washed,” between loads of aprons, tea towels, P.E. pinnies and uniforms.
Discussions were held about who would need them and where they should be taken. Students put them in Nivison’s car and off to drop-offs into large boxes (later donated by Big Country Moving) at the Women’s Centre, Loaves and Fishes and the Food Bank locations, where needing persons could make selections. All welcomed the coats wholeheartedly.
About 100 items gave warmth to people that November. By early fall of 1999 there were enquiries about doing it again.
Everyone was thrilled to have Judy and Laurie Scarrow and Roanne Williams at First Choice Dry Cleaners volunteer to do the washing if needed, and that year 50 to 60 coats came in each day.
It was a massive cleaning job and a lot of work on top of their usual dry cleaning tasks.
Places to drop coats off increased to include the Ministry of Children and Family Development, P.I.N.S. (People in Need of Savings), Cariboo Health Unit, Canim Lake and local schools.
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When asked “Will you do it all again?” the Scarrows said “You bet!” and continued supporting the program for seven more years, when they closed their business.
From 2000 to 2006, still maintaining 300-600 coats et al. of all sizes, the name changed to Coats for Kids and Others, then changed again a year later to Coats for All.
In 2007, Donna approached Andrew Hofmarks at 100 Mile House Laundromat across from the library and he said “Sure, no problem.”
This is his 12th year receiving bags of coats that nicely say “washed”’ He washes those tagged “not washed.”
Nivison assisted a transition of the program to Wendy Hamblin and men and women of St. Timothy’s Anglican Church, forming a working group for four years (2010-14).
Through assisting on the newly formed 100 Mile House United Church and St. Timothy’s Anglican Church Joint Outreach Team that took over the coats program in 2014, Nivison decided to pass on the coats and hangers.
She had been involved in the program for 20 years, but moved onto other projects knowing the program that started on a Jr. High home economics class’s clothesline would continue.
This November, it will deliver to at least eight local destinations.
Nivison encourages members of our wonderful, supportive community to donate their coats and accessories.
You will give warmth to others, and get a warm feeling yourself in doing so.
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