Renewal by Andersen of Cottage Grove Hosts Coat Drive to Keep Families Warm

This October, staff from the Renewal Corporate office in Cottage Grove (and satellite locations around the Twin Cities) donated roughly 200 coats and jackets, along with dozens of hats, scarves, mittens, gloves and other assorted winter apparel to help the less fortunate. 

This is the second year Renewal by Andersen of Cottage Grove has hosted a winter apparel drive for Coats of Kindness, a nonprofit organization in Oakdale, Minn. Response by employees at Cottage Grove was so outstanding in 2017 that Renewal’s human resources team decided to expand the coat drive to include the Renewal by Andersen-Twin Cities showroom in Roseville, as well as Bayport and the Corporate Administrative Offices in Oak Park Heights.

“We are thrilled to be able to donate to Coats of Kindness for the second year,” said Greta Erickson, a learning project specialist who helped coordinate the drive. “As we approach the bitter cold of winter in Minnesota, it’s so important to remember those in our backyards who may not have the supplies and clothing they need to keep themselves and their children warm.”

Coats of Kindness was created in 2010 by a local family “as a way to pay forward the outpouring of support and love” they experienced during the husband’s five-year battle with cancer. Their mission is to teach children the importance of giving back to their communities and to know that a simple act such as donating a coat can change someone’s life.

Donated items are given at no cost to those in need. Donated funds are used 100 percent to purchase new, bulk discounted winterwear, which is also donated at no cost to the needy.

Since its inception, Coats of Kindness has donated more than 5,000 coats and jackets to people in need.