cfkcleveland

Coats for Kids is feeling grateful this holiday season for the generosity of our partners Chick-fil-A and Rockport Ready Mix! 

With money raised from the Cookies for a Cause program at participating northeast Ohio Chick-fil-A locations, every student at Mary B. Martin School received a new winter coat. Local Chick-fil-A restaurants (Harvard, Solon, Parma, Beachwood, Willoughby and Mentor) provided lunch for students and staff!! Possibly the most exciting part of the day was a visit from the Santa Cow!

As part of the Rockport Ready Mix Gift of Giving program, over 500 new winter coats were given to students in kindergarten through 8th grade at Artemus Ward School. The Gift of Giving is a program created by Rockport Ready Mix and geared toward giving back in various ways throughout greater Cleveland.

We would also like to thank all our volunteers, along with the staff and students at each of these wonderful events. We couldn’t have made this happen without you!

We’re very grateful to the Burger family (Sandi Szalkowski Burger) of North Royalton who have supported our organization in different ways for many years.

On Sat., 9/4, they hosted their 9th Annual B.P.S Invitational golf outing at Royal Crest Golf Club, Inc., collecting coat donations & raising more than $1800 for CFK Cleveland! Plans are in the works for a larger outing next year so stay tuned…

Coats for Kids is excited to announce our partnership with Mr. Hero restaurants. From September 2021 through April 2022, 72 Northeast Ohio Mr. Hero locations will be collecting donations for Coats for Kids in their front counter donation boxes. Stop by your local Mr. Hero today for the taste you crave and make a donation to help us continue to fulfill our mission to provide new or like-new winter coats to children (ages 0 – 18) in need in northeast Ohio. 100% of the proceeds collected will go directly to Coats for Kids – Cleveland. 

Coats for Kids has been spreading warmth to kids in northeast Ohio since 1981. In 2021 we celebrate our 40th anniversary! After 40 years, Coat for Kids has undoubtedly made an impact on our community with hundreds of thousands of new and like-new winter coats distributed throughout northeast Ohio. Join us in celebrating our 40th anniversary by giving the gift of a warm winter coat.

A huge thank you to The Mike Trivisonno Show and everyone who played a role in coordinating Triv’s Big Give that took place Monday, August 9, 2021 on Newsradio WTAM 1100! Donations from the following businesses and foundations, as well as many individuals, resulted in more than $204,000 being raised for Coats for Kids!

• Fred Kobzowicz, Vice President of Winking Lizard Tavern, for donating a delicious lunch.
• Rick DeChant, Executive Director of the The Cleveland Police Foundation who spoke live on air about the CFK relationship with the Cleveland Police.
• Rick Solon of the Figgie Foundation for the incredibly generous donation.
• Paul Orlousky, Cleveland TV news icon, who donated a portion of his book sales at the event to Coats for Kids.
• Billy Morris and his Smokin’ Rock n’ Roll ice cream truck for donating ice cream to everyone who attended today.
• Cintas Corporation who donated new Coats for Kids branded t-shirts, hoodies, baseball caps and winter hats for our staff.
• Charles Geil. And his ghost band for providing musical entertainment throughout the day
• Dunkin’ Donuts for donating breakfast
• Piccolo Italian Restaurant in Mayfield Heights for donating delicious food
• Photos by Marty (Marty Matusak and Joe Vanecek) who documented the day in photos

Thank you to the following businesses and foundations for their generous monetary donations and to the many individuals who made cash or online donations!

• Carriage Hill Realty
• Training Logistics LLC
• JAG Lawn Maintenance & Landscaping
• K2’s Enterprises LLC
• MG Plumbing Inc
• Parkview Custom Homes
• PostNet in Macedonia
• Mighty Ducts Inc.
• Rotary Club of Bedford
• Kelley & Ferraro LLP
• Charlie’s Auto Repair LLC
• Victor Kaiser, Co-Founder & President, Global Transport
• USA Enterprises Inc
• Summit Armory
• Window Nation, LLC
• Figgie Foundation

For the past 36 years, the Tour of Good Cheer has brought the spirit of Christmas and goodwill to over 100,000 underserved individuals and families within the greater Cleveland area on the Saturday before Christmas. Founded by Dick Clough, the Tour stops at 10 local agencies sharing essential items such as warm coats, scarves, gloves, various clothing items and much, much more.

In 2020, Coats for Kids partnered with the Tour, providing over 300 winter coats for distribution to the Cleveland community. Recently, Dick stopped by our Coats for Kids warehouse to present us with plaques showing their appreciation.

For more than three decades, the reach of the Tour has continued to grow in partnership with the Cleveland Police Athletic League. Coats for Kids looks forward to partnering with the Tour again in 2021.  To learn more, visit www.facebook.com/TourOfGoodCheer.

Coats for Kids’ Executive Director Debbie Martinko (right) is with Beaumont Senior Lydia Gattozzi.

Beaumont School Senior Lydia Gattozzi completed her “Points for Coats” fundraiser for Coats for Kids earlier this spring.

The final fundraising tally has now revealed that Lydia raised a grand total of just under $3,400!

Lydia, one of Beaumont’s leading basketball scorers, attained an outstanding 383 points during the regular and post-season. For her “Points for Coats” campaign, contributors made pledges for each point scored or flat donations to reach the $3,400.

Coats for Kids thanks the amazing athlete and human that is Lydia Gattozzi from the bottom of our hearts, and wishes you all the best next year at Canisius College.