NewsWatch 12’s 32nd Annual Coats for Kids Campaign begins Saturday | Community

NewsWatch 12’s 32nd Annual Coats for Kids will start on Saturday October 1st.

MEDFORD, Ore– For the 32nd year in a row, NewsWatch 12’s annual Coats for Kids campaign is coming back.

The campaign is the longest running community service project in our station’s history which connects children in need with winter coats donated by members of the community.

The campaign started in Jackson and Klamath Counties in 1990, followed by Josephine County in 1991.

For 29 years our viewers gave new or gently used children’s coats at more than 75 locations in Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath Counties, but the lingering coronavirus pandemic caused us to adjust to online monetary donations for Coats for Kids in 2020 and 2021 when collecting, sorting, cleaning and distributing coats wasn’t practical or prudent during a pandemic.

However during the two years of the pandemic, local communities across Southern Oregon stepped up to help kids in need and now, in the 30 plus years since the program started, NewsWatch 12’s Coats for Kids collected, cleaned, and distributed more than 125,000 coats to children in southern Oregon.

With the Pandemic winding down, we’re sending out the red Coats for Kids barrels again to collect new and gently used coats for children that will be distributed through our partners, including some schools.

Here’s a list of all of the barrel locations that you can donate a new or used coat, in good condition, across Southern Oregon:

Klamath County:

–Walmart: 3600 Washburn Way, Klamath Falls

– Grange Co-op: 2525 Washburn Way, Klamath Falls

-Fred Meyer: 2655 Shasta Way, Klamath Falls

– Coastal Farm & Ranch: 6225 South 6th Street, Klamath Falls

Jackson County:

Grange Co-op: 225 South Front Street, Central Point

Ray’s Food Place: 126 E Pine Street, Central Point

Windermere Real Estate: 211 East Main Street, Rogue River

Grange Co-op: 8205 Crater Lake Hwy, White City

Coastal Farm & Ranch: 7303 Crater Lake Hwy, White City

Windermere Van Vleet: 435 Old Hwy 62, Eagle Point

Ray’s Food Place, 11100 OR-62, Eagle Point

Walmart: 11500 Hannon Road, Eagle Point

Chase Bank: 22050 OR-62, Shady Cove

Shady Cove Market: 22111 OR-62, Shady Cove

Josephine County:

Club NW Kid Zone: 2160 NW Vine Street, Grants Pass

Walmart: 135 Terry Lane, Grant’s Pass

Fred Meyer: 1101 Redwood Hwy, Grant’s Pass

ReMax Integrity: 1830 NE 7th, Grant’s Pass

Boys & Girls Club of the Rogue Valley: 203 SE 9th Street, Grants Pass

Grange Co-op: 1710 SW Schutzwohl Lane, Grants Pass