Bruce Meck takes in a coat donation from Prestige customer Janet Beavus.

Coats for the Cold is a program established by WIVK over 25 years ago.  The Knoxville tradition began when a homeless man was found frozen to death on the streets of Knoxville one cold winter night.  Today Knox Area Rescue Ministries (KARM) spearheads the coat drive in partnership with WIVK, WVLT and Prestige Cleaners.

Prestige has been a major sponsor of the program for twelve years, cleaning over 125,000 coats.  Coats are dropped off at any of our ten stores and employees sort and clean the coats and deliver them to KARM.

The volunteer spirit is strong amongst Prestige employees and this project enables them to make a difference in the life of someone less fortunate.  Prestige employee Jenia shared “This means a lot because our house burned down in 1993 and we lost everything we had.  We had a blizzard that year and people brought us things in black garbage bags.  We did not care if they matched or not.  We appreciated everything and everyone who helped us.  Coats for the Cold gives me a way of helping others when they are in need.  It touches my heart.”

Debbie said, “This opportunity means a lot to me.  I know what it is like to have no money, no place to live and no clothes.  Coats for the Cold is a wonderful thing.  I try to always help people who live around me that are struggling now.”

Perhaps Billy summed it up best.  “I feel like giving any way I can.  Being a part of humanity is giving back any way possible.”

This year coats will be distributed to needy people on December 3 from 8 a.m. to Noon at the KARM Thrift Store at 733 Hall of Fame Drive.  For information about volunteering for the event go to www.karm.org.

This is a lot of coats! So far we've cleaned over 2,000 for this year!

Jennifer McKamey and David Campbell sort the coats before they are cleaned.

Deena Baker puts a load of coats in the washer for cleaning.