Since 1989, the New York Cares Coat Drive has collected over 1 million coats for New Yorkers in need – between 70,000 and 80,000 coats each year. A crucial element in making this happen is the availability of donated warehouse space where we receive, sort, and distribute the contributed coats to hundreds of nonprofit agencies.

Unfortunately, the space we’ve used for the past three years is no longer available, so we are now urgently seeking alternative space. The Coat Drive warehouse is the logistics hub for the entire operation. Can you help?

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The final numbers are in: we collected and distributed 70,423 coats through the 21st Annual New York Cares Coat Drive!

We couldn’t do this without the help of hundreds of collection sites. Each year we recognize the individuals and organizations that collect the most coats with our Winter Warmth Awards. The winners for 2009 are:

• New York City Police Department Collection Awards:
  112th Precinct (Queens), 1,296
  50th Precinct (Bronx), 1,260
  111th Precinct (Queens), 1,248

• Top Collection Event Award: New York Football Giants, 2,100 coats

• Top Corporate Collection Award: YMWREA, 1,394 coats

• Top Civic Collection Award: Wildlife Conservation Society – Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium, 1,034 coats

• Top Retail Collection Award: Janovic Plaza, 473 coats

• Top Youth Group Collection Award: Saint David’s School, 229 coats

This winter, we distributed coats to over 300 agencies — including homeless shelters, community organizations, and schools — that serve our economically disadvantaged neighbors. Thanks to everyone who donated a coat to keep someone warm.

In just three weeks since the end of the New York Cares Coat Drive, we’ve already given out over 45,000 coats to agencies serving our city’s most vulnerable residents!

New York Cares would like to thank our friends at Original Windbreaker for their donation of a whopping 4,600 Big & Tall Men’s coats. The need for coats this winter is greater than ever, and Windbreaker made every effort to help us meet that need.

Thanks to Windbreaker’s contribution and the donations of thousands of generous New Yorkers, we are well on our way to keeping 80,000 of our city’s struggling residents warm this year.

We plunged into the new year and the icy waters off the Coney Island Boardwalk on January 1 for the last hurrah of the New York Cares Coat Drive. Thanks to the Coney Island Polar Bear Club and everyone who came out to jump in or donate a coat. We’ve received tens of thousands of coats so far, and we’re still counting!

We’re in the final week of the Coat Drive, and we need your help to reach our goal of collecting 80,000 coats.

After the Coat Drive officially ends on December 31, you’ll have one last chance to keep New York warm. Join New York Cares, Camp Sunshine, and the Coney Island Polar Bear Club for the 2010 New Year’s Day Polar Dip!

We’ll be collecting the very last coats on the Coney Island Boardwalk at Stillwell Avenue and cheering on more than 800 plungers (including three New York Cares staff members) as they take a dip in the icy waters at 1:00 p.m. on New Year’s Day. Feeling Brave? Sign up to jump in.

As we enter the last week of the Coat Drive, we’re increasing our goal to collect 80,000 coats for homeless and low-income New Yorkers. Donations to the Coat Drive have been strong so far, but we need everyone’s help to beat our original goal of 70,000 coats.

The demand for warm clothing is the highest we’ve seen in years, and we don’t want to leave anyone out in the cold. This Christmas morning, New York Cares volunteers are giving out warm winter coats to over 100 homeless men, women, and children at the New York City Rescue Mission in Manhattan.

Help us keep thousands of other New Yorkers in need warm this winter – donate at one of hundreds of public locations around the city.

You may have seen our Coat Drive ads this month on tv screens, billboards, and magazines as you were cruising through town in a taxi, waiting on the platform for your train, riding the elevator to your office, or reading the news. Let us know when you’ve seen our ads – post a picture on our Facebook.

We couldn’t raise awareness of the Coat Drive without Kinetic‘s help securing advertising space and David Bradley and 89 Edit‘s video production services. We are extremely grateful to them and the media companies that generously donated space: ABC, Captivate, Clear Channel, Gawker.com, Gothamist.com, IndoorDIRECT, Lamar, Martha Stewart Living, Mesmerize, NBC, New York Post, New York Times, Next Magazine, People, RYwel Media, TargetCast, Time Inc., Time Out NY, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal.

Looking for some inspiration for last minute holiday gifts? From clothing discounts to gym passes, we’ve got you covered. Don’t miss your chance to take advantage of these great deals from New York Cares Coat Drive partners before the end of December:

• Get 25% off regularly priced items at Uncle Sam’s Army Navy Outfitters when you donate a coat or purchase a low-priced surplus coat from the store to be donated.

• Take 20% off full-price merchandise or 10% off sale-price merchandise at Vivienne Tam‘s SoHo Boutique when you drop off a coat.

• Receive free tickets to visit the Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium, or Brooklyn Children’s Museum when you donate a coat at their respective drop-off centers.

• Club H Fitness is offering free enrollment for new members (a $199 value) when you donate a coat, and Families First Chiropractic is giving free consultations, exams, and treatments to new patients with a coat to spare.

No one should have to spend a day like today outside.

Sadly, thousands of homeless families in New Yorkers have to face frigid temperatures and bracing winds on days like this – many without the protection of a warm winter coat.

Shelters and other nonprofit agencies have already started picking up coats for their clients from our warehouse (see below), but we need everyone’s help to keep all New Yorkers warm. Help us beat our goal of collecting 70,000 coats this year by donating one at these locations.

If you don’t have a coat to spare, consider making a financial donation to support the program.  Any amount will help – just $10 will provide three people with warm winter coats.

Update: The Mets collected 1,568 coats in just one day! A huge thanks to the Mets and everyone who made it to Citi Field to donate for helping us on our way to 80,000 coats.

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Get your old coats together for the 3rd annual “Mets Warm-Up” holiday coat drive at Citi Field today!

Each fan who donates a coat will receive a voucher for a free pair of tickets to a select Mets home game in April.

You can drop off coats at the First Base VIP entrance anytime between 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16. For more details, visit our Coat Drive News and Events page or mets.com.