Saturday, Nov. 03, 2012

Coats for Kids and Canned Food Drive held until December

A real estate firm wants to make sure Los Banos children have full bellies and their bodies are warm.

"I think it's terrible that there might be somebody in our community that's hungry. The thought that there's a kid cold, the thought that there's a kid hungry just breaks my heart," said Bonnie Howell of Century 21 M&M and Associates.

The business is holding its fourth Coats for Kids and Canned Food Drive through Dec. 21.

Howell is leading the effort to collect non-perishables by holding a raffle as an incentive.

"We have a couple of $250 gift certificates, we have some quilts, we have some wine. Everybody who donates a can of food gets a ticket. If you bring in 10 cans of food, you get 10 tickets," Howell said.

She said she plans to make two canned food deliveries to The Salvation Army, one the week before Thanksgiving and the other days before Christmas.

Realtor Geneva Brett is in charge of collecting coats.

"I think the first year we were about 400 coats," Brett said.

On Monday, Century 21 M&M and Associates was given 400 coats by Oasis Community Church. Dwayne Young, a member of the church, said he gets joy out of giving to others.

"It's just a great deal to give back to children in our community," Young said.

He said the church may provide more jacket donations because there's still a month and a half until the drive concludes.

The coats will be cleaned at a local laundromat for free before they are given to The Salvation Army. More than 700 coats were collected last year.

For more information on Century 21 M&M and Associates Coats for Kids and Canned Food Drive, call (209) 587-0573.