Four Reasons YOU Should Donate a Coat to the 12th Annual Charlotte Coat Drive
August 22, 2022
UPDATED JAN. 25, 2022
We issued a call for coats and you – the Charlotte community – responded without hesitation, to the tune of 3,646 coats for the 11th annual 704 Coat Drive. We took a moment to reflect on our favorite moments of this year’s drive. Because community outreach is a primary company pillar, and because the annual drive is our company’s largest community event, we always love every minute, so it was hard to narrow it down!
As is the case every year, our barrel partners are the heart and soul of this community initiative. They not only graciously place a barrel at their site, but also serve as ambassadors, sending out emails, posting on social and more to spread the word. We had almost 50 barrel partners this year, and with many putting barrels at multiple locations, we had 75+ locations – a record! Thank you again to our loyal and hard-working barrel partners – the ones that have been with us since the beginning, as well as the ones who donned the partner cap for the first time.
Fashion isn’t typically a topic of conversation in our world of HVAC and plumbing, but it definitely was during the 704 Coat Drive. One of Charlotte’s most popular fashionistas, Rachel Brown (AKA Queen City Chic), generously donated her time and talents to spread the word about the cause. Making her way around local television, she rounded up four on-trend coats under $40, reminding viewers to donate their like-new coats to the 704 Coat Drive when making room for those new ones!
The finale to the drive is Zip-Up Day at Dilworth Neighborhood Grille – a day filled with free food, fun music, Charlotte’s sportiest team mascots and more. It’s our way of enticing the community to donate coats, thank those that already have and bond as a team. A perk of working with Charlotte Mechanical is paid time off for community service and this is one of the days! In between bagging coats and handing out the complimentary lunches, we squeezed in some cornhole and dance-offs with Homer and Chubby.
And last but certainly not least is the reason we host the 704 Coat Drive. We put on the drive every year to give a boost of hope to those in need. All – and by all we mean 100% of your coats and monetary donations – go directly to The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte.
They will continue to distribute the coats through their programs as they have in the past - Christmas Assistance (Angel Tree); homeless services (Center of Hope and other shelter sites); Boys & Girls Clubs; and surrounding Salvation Army units.
If you are interested in becoming a 2022 barrel partner, please reach out to us at coatdrive@charlottemechanical.com.
