Elgin fire official asks for donation of 200 more coats for drive

Elgin fire official asks for donation of 200 more coats for drive

Beth McCandry

The Elgin Fire Department still needs about 200 winter coats to reach its year-end goal of 400, Capt. William Nangle said.

All the garments will go to organizations that assist people in need, said Nangle, who’s overseeing this years effort. The goal now is to get the word out in the two weeks that remain in December, he said.

“Thanks to all the residents of Elgin for their outpouring of support for the program,” Nangle said. “It certainly has a positive impact on people in need. There are so many people who benefit from this.”

This year, the effort is more important than year’s past because there are so many people struggling financially and the demand for help with even basic things high, he said.

“Unfortunately, there is a large need for this, maybe more than some folks realize,” Nangle said. “Each year the coats do go to people who just can’t afford coats.”

The fire department launched its first drive started about eight years ago when they were trying to get more involved with the community, he said. They asked the Community Crisis Center what its clients needed most, and the response was coats, he said.

The department, which has partnered with Sarah Leonard Remax Suburban in St. Charles on the effort, uses its seven fire stations as collection points for people to drop off new and slightly used coats as well as hats, gloves, mittens and scarves, Nangle said .

As the coats come in, firefighters drop them off at the Community Crisis Center, which has its staff sort through them to distribute to people they know need them, Nangle said. If there’s a surplus, the coats are given to other nonprofits, he said.

He hopes residents will check their closets and basements for winter garments they no longer need to help them reach their goal this year, he said. It’s rewarding to know they’ve helped fill a basic need for so many, he said.

“It feels pretty good to have made a contribution like that,” Nangle said.

Donation boxes can be found at these fire houses:

  • Ward 1, 550 Summit St.;
  • Station 2, 650 Big Timber Road;
  • Station 3, 2455 Royal Blvd.;
  • Station 4, 599 S. McLean Blvd.;
  • Ward 5, 804 Villa St.;
  • Ward 6, 707 W. Chicago St.;
  • Station 7, 3270 Longcommon Pkwy.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.