MAPLEWOOD, NJ — For the sixth year in a row, the GenWealth Group of Maplewood is encouraging residents to drop off clean and gently used coats for men, women and children through Dec. 7, for donation to the 21st annual Jersey Cares Coat Drive.
All coats can be delivered to the box in the investment adviser’s lobby at 6 Inwood Place in Maplewood. Jersey Cares will eventually distribute them to approximately 200 New Jersey nonprofits, including shelters, schools and churches.
And GenWealth hopes people will contribute a multitude of coats this year. While it might not sound like much, Vice President of Marketing Cherie Leanza said donating an old, unused coat from the back of one’s closet can actually make a world of difference.
“It might make the difference between somebody being able to go out and pick up their medication” or not, Leanza told the News-Record in a Nov. 10 phone interview. “Or perhaps somebody who’s going out to a job interview in the winter (may need) a coat. I think all these things are very impactful.”
GenWealth has already made an impact through serving as a collection site for the coat drive. Leanza said their location has contributed a total of 1,121 coats since first joining the initiative in 2011, each year giving more coats than the previous year. She hopes to continue that streak this year with a goal of topping 2016’s total of 262 coats. It just might happen too, she said, pointing out that GenWealth had already collected roughly 50 coats during the first 10 days of the drive.
But Leanza would not be too disappointed if the record is not broken. She said what is important to her is helping those less fortunate. Though GenWealth works every day with those who have the finances to invest, she said the coat drive reminds the company that many people cannot afford to do so. And they should never be forgotten, she said.
“It is our responsibility for those of us who have some means to give back,” Leanza said. “We’re fortunate to have what we have, and so let us give back to those who are less fortunate.”
Leanza credited financial planner Braden Schipke with instilling this philanthropic mission in GenWealth, as he first proposed the idea of collecting for Jersey Cares. Schipke said he thought participating in the coat drive would be a great opportunity to give back while serving as a team-building activity, and that has proved to be the case. He said it is always fun working with his colleagues to sort the coats before they are delivered to Jersey Cares. Plus, he said, helping a good cause is the right thing to do.
“You get so busy focusing on your career and your family and your friends,” Schipke told the News-Record in a Nov. 10 phone interview. “But I think you’ve got to take some time to look outside and say ‘Are there things that I can do to help people in the community who I may not know or interact with on a daily basis?’”
Of course, no charity event could be successful without the community’s support. Fortunately, Schipke said Maplewood residents are very generous. He recalled visiting one elderly woman who could not leave her house but nonetheless wanted to donate 10 coats. Leanza also remembered a former Maplewood couple who drove all the way from their new home in Pennsylvania just to donate two children’s coats they’d bought specifically for the cause.
Risa Olinsky is a longtime resident who regularly contributes to the coat drive. Olinsky estimated she has donated at least 35 to 40 coats through the years, either from her own closet or from her neighbors. That does not even include all of the coats given to the cause nationally by those who see her postings about the drive on Facebook.
Olinsky said she is passionate about the cause because today’s society is one of excess, and yet too many people are still forced to go without. While some people have closets filled with coats for every occasion, many others cannot afford even one, she said, adding that this should not be the case.
“It’s criminal not to share,” Olinsky told the News-Record in a Nov. 9 phone interview. “It’s criminal not to pass on coats that could be used by somebody who doesn’t have what they need to stay warm. It’s a no-brainer.”
In addition to helping others, Olinsky said people also help themselves by getting rid of possessions they no longer need. A certified health and wellness coach, she said clutter can lead to stress, which in turn causes bad habits and unhealthy eating. Lightening one’s load will make people feel lighter themselves, she said.
Jersey Cares appreciates donations, regardless of why they come in, considering the number of people in need of coats. According to U.S. Census data, New Jersey had a poverty rate of 10.8 percent in 2015, which means that 946,114 people have incomes below the poverty line of $24,250 for a family of four. A 2016 study by Monarch Housing additionally found that New Jersey has 8,941 homeless people.
Jennifer Lewellen, Jersey Cares’ service events manager, said partnering with companies such as GenWealth is helpful for getting the word out about the coat drive. On average, Lewellen said, the drive brings in about 30,000 coats per year, with the drive totaling more than 500,000 coats over its 21-year history. But she said Jersey Cares would love to satisfy every one of the roughly 50,000 coat requests it receives each year, and organizations like GenWealth are essential to achieving that goal.
Lewellen said anyone is welcome to reach out to Jersey Cares to serve as a collection site — where people can deliver their coats — or drop-off point, which is where collection sites deliver the coats they collected. Everyone is also welcome to volunteer at one of the 12 drop-off points throughout the state, sorting coats into piles for men, women and children. In fact, the nonprofit’s annual Sort-Off — when hundreds of volunteers at all drop-off points sort the clothes simultaneously — takes place Saturday, Dec. 10.
Lewellen hopes people will consider becoming involved with the cause, but if volunteering is not possible, she urged people to donate and promised that people will benefit from it.
“Every coat counts,” Lewellen told the News-Record in a Nov. 9 phone interview. “When you donate a coat, you’re making someone’s life a little bit warmer and a little bit brighter each winter.”
To learn more about the Jersey Cares Coat Drive, including how to sponsor coats online, visit www.jerseycares.org.