Winter Warmth 2024 - Thank You!

Winter Warmth was held on October 26th this year, and although the weather was warm, volunteers handed out close to 700 hundred coats to children in Spartanburg county! These children were identified by their school guidance counselors as someone in need of a warm coat for the upcoming winter season. 

Each child was welcomed into our gym, got to choose a new coat and winter accessory, checked themselves out in our new mirrors, and received new toothbrushes as they were leaving. It was a wonderful day, filled with smiles and grateful hearts.

After the event, we were contacted by a grandmother who wanted to reach out to thank volunteers for their acts of kindness and love. She said that she was welcomed with open arms and is excited to live in a community where “the love of Jesus is on display.” We are so thankful for these reminders year after year of the impact of this particular event on our neighbors. 

We would like to give a special thank you to the following people:

  • Our 5th grade hot chocolate sellers who raised almost $700 for winter accessories
  • Dr. Will Adair, Dr. Steve Richards, Dr. Eric Nease, and Healthy Smiles, who all GENEROUSLY gave toothbrushes and toothpaste to be handed out to our guests
  • Addie Usry who knitted 20 blankets to be handed out to families attending the event. Addie is earning her gold award for Girl Scouts and is planning to teach others how to knit these blankets so we can have even more next year.
  • Susan Clary Cantrell for hand sewing beautiful toddler sized coats for siblings

We could not pull off an event this size without the help of many. In addition to those listed above, we had close to 100 volunteers help in various ways. As always, we are blown away by our congregation and how they continuously show up for those in need. If you would like to support this ministry, please consider donating a coat in someone’s honor or memory for $35. This is a great way to thank a teacher, neighbor, or friend during the holidays. Thanks to each person who helped make Winter Warmth 2024 a successful event!

Over 20 years and 36,000 coats later, First Presbyterian Church Spartanburg is still striving to keep Spartanburg County school children warm. Begun as an initiative of the church’s Peace and Justice Committee in 1995, the program originally focused on distributing shoes and gently used coats. During the second year 783 pairs of shoes and 200 coats were distributed, yet there was a desire to reach a larger number of children and to meet more specific needs.

Over time, a well-organized, comprehensive identification and distribution system has been developed, and now every year the church gives approximately 1,000 children a new winter coat at an annual cost of $50,000. The process begins in August when elementary and middle school counselors in all seven school districts are asked to identify their students who may need a new coat. Those counselors work diligently to ensure that children in need are served.

Every identified child has a coat ordered specifically for him/her. The project is funded through donations by First Presbyterian Church members and others throughout the community. For a gift of $35.00 donors can honor a loved one, provide a gift in memory of someone, or simply have the pleasure of giving a child a new coat for the cold winter (donation link below).

On Winter Warmth Distribution Day parents and children begin lining up in by 7:00 am eager to “shop” for a new coat. Hundreds of First Presbyterian members, as well as other volunteers from throughout the community, walk each child through the aisles of coats, allowing each of them to be fitted and to select just the right style and color. It is a happy day, and almost every child proudly leaves the building dressed in style for cold weather.

The scriptures have guided this work for the past 20 years, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So,faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:14-17.

Winter Warmth is a reflection of Christ’s love in the world.