FARMINGTON – Youths ages preschool to teen are pooling their efforts to help others.

A couple of wagons bearing large decorated boxes of winter coats, mittens and boots were delivered to the Old South Church coat closet Friday by children from the Sweatt-Winter Early Care and Education program at the University of Maine at Farmington.

The combined youth groups of Old South and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church will gather Sunday to assemble 50 food baskets to deliver to the food closet for distribution Monday, said Sueli Gaewsky, youth pastor at Old South Church. The Catholic group has also baked 50 pies to include in the baskets.

The winter items along with blankets and comforters will be available for free Monday at the Care and Share Food Pantry while about 200 Thanksgiving baskets are given to local families. Those receiving the baskets Monday have already signed up for them but the coats, mittens, boots and blankets will be there for anyone to take.

The church runs a year-round coat closet open to the public during its community luncheons on the second Saturday of each month, she said.

Beth Hatcher, a church member and UMF assistant professor of early childhood education, suggested the preschoolers at Sweatt-Winter become involved by collecting their own outgrown items and delivering them to the church.

“It’s important for the children to see how the coats will be used,” Hatcher said. “By collecting and delivering the coats themselves, these young children will learn firsthand the importance of sharing our resources with others.” The collection has also served as a learning tool for math skills with children counting the items and making graphs of what had come in and what was still needed, she said. Nineteen preschoolers and nine school-age children collected the items.

“Last year, a mother picked up a coat for her daughter and told us that this was the first time the child could go to the bus stop with a coat that had a zipper working,” said church member Lynda Giard, who helps repair some coats and served the children juice Friday.

An older woman came to the closet in her housecoat and was so happy to find a coat, Gaewsky said.

“We change our coats because of the color or style while others need one,” Giard said.

The church accepts donations of clean coats and always needs more donations of coats in larger sizes.