OXFORD – It was quiet on Tuesday at the Coat Closet as John and Wendy Williams sorted donations of winter clothing, but with cold weather bearing down and the long Maine winter ahead, it won’t stay quiet for long.
“We’ll start seeing more traffic in the next week or so,” Wendy Williams said. “We’ll stay open right through March, and if we have a long winter, we’ll be open in April, too.”
The Williamses already have an ample supply of winter clothing for men, women and children to distribute during the next few weeks to needy Oxford Hills residents, with plenty more on the way.
“We get bags in every week,” Wendy Williams said.
The Coat Closet is part of Rightstart, an all-volunteer organization that runs various programs to serve low-income residents of the Oxford Hills. The Williamses, who live in Norway, are Rightstart board members and have worked at the Coat Closet for the last 12 years.
John Williams is the former president and chief executive officer of the Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce, which up until this year housed the Coat Closet in its garage. The Coat Closet moved this year to the former Ames store in Oxford when the building owner donated the space and the chamber decided to use its garage for storage.
John Williams said that over the years, the need for winter clothing among low-income area residents has not abated. “We give away in excess of 300 coats per year,” he said. “This is not an affluent community to begin with. There are many people who are in desperate need of this type of clothing.”
No one will be turned away or asked to prove their level of need. “I always took the position that if you are in here and you need winter clothing for your children or your family members, I’m not about to ask you who you are,” he said.
Every year the Williamses ask local schools and the media to get the word out that the Coat Closet has opened for the season. The name implies coats only, but many other items are available, including hats, mittens, snow pants, sweaters and fleece tops. All donations are welcome, and may be dropped off at Hannaford in Oxford.
Norway Laundry cleans all donated items for free before they are hung on racks at the Coat Closet, ready to be taken home to keep someone warm.
Although all donations are welcome, Wendy Williams said the Coat Closet is in particular need of ski pants in all sizes and men’s winter jackets. “We have a hard time finding coats for teenage boys,” she said. “A lot of teenage boys who come in here are large sized and we need coats that can fit them.”
The Coat Closet opened to the public on Nov. 22 and will be open every Tuesday from 2 to 4. If someone can’t make it during that time, they may call Wendy Williams at 527-2351 to arrange a time.
Comments are no longer available on this story