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.

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.

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.

One more day for Coats for Clunkers at Penn Station – stop by on your way to work tomorrow, Dec 16 (7:30 – 9:30 a.m.), with a used coat and get a $100 coupon for a new one from Weatherproof!

We collected over 250 coats at the Amtrak rotunda today – four times our normal take (see below).  Thanks to WPIX’s Larry Hoff and NY1 for helping spread the word.   And, of course, special thanks to Weatherproof for making it a little bit easier to give a coat this year.

Need a little nudge to convince you to part with last year’s coat? Our partners are offering some great deals on new coats when you donate an old one:

• Club Monaco is offering a 20% discount off all outerwear at its New York City locations when you donate a coat from December 7-14.

• Get a $100 rebate coupon toward the purchase of a new coat from Weatherproof when you drop off a coat at New York Cares’ Penn Station collection site from December 14-16.

• Rothman’s Union Square will take $100 off the cost of a new overcoat when you donate a coat to the New York Cares Coat Drive during the month of December.

Get the full details on these sales and others this week (like Sak and Paragon Sports giveaways). We’re posting new Coat Drive promotions and events nearly every day, so keep an eye out for even more enticing deals!

Today’s chilly morning reminded us why we’ve been running the Coat Drive for the past 21 years.  As we distributed coats this morning at the Bowery Mission, the crisp air made us wonder how cold this winter will get.

Thanks to NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, NBA Cares Ambassadors Dikembe Mutombo and Bob Lanier, Presenting Sponsor Health Plus, sponsors WNBC4, Telemundo, and Jack Resnick & Sons for participating.

Thanks to them, men from the Bowery Mission who would otherwise go cold are a little warmer.  But there are tens of thousands of others who need warm coats tonight.

Find a coat donation site near you where you can donate your new or gently used coats this December. Thank you for your generous support.