NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — Boxes of coats fill a room in the Central Susquehanna Opportunities office on East Arch Street in Shamokin. The coats are for the organization's annual Keep Our Kids Warm coat drive.
"We do a referral form from our partners or from our nine-county region for our community action and our workforce development customers, and we'll try to provide every child that requests it with a brand new jacket for the season," said Sandy Winhofer, Self Sufficiency Services Supervisor Central Susquehanna Opportunities.
Central Susquehanna oOpportunities is a private non-profit charitable organization.
CSO tries to help out those who are struggling by helping them to get to self-sufficiency.
People can drop off new jackets for infants to teenagers at different locations.
"M&T Bank in Sunbury, Shamokin, Danville, Bloomsburg, Berwick, and the HUB at Mulberry Mill in Bloomsburg is also a location; we're here in Shamokin, at our office; you can drop them off here or mail in donations," said Winhofer.
Inflation is making it even harder for some families to afford coats.
"Having, you know, warm clothing to be healthy, it really makes a big deal, so we, everybody, appreciates it so much that we receive it, so it makes us feel really good that we're helping them out," said Winhofer.
Families can send in a request for a coat. From there, partners or CSO staff will make sure a family is qualified.
"If somebody receives SNAP benefits, they're already automatically qualified, and otherwise, we can see if they're within the 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, and then we just every day we try to fill orders and try to get them out as soon as possible," explained Winhofer.
CSO staff are distributing coats to families in need.
Those who would like to make a donation can do so now through December 31st.