Local organizations helping with cold weather needs

BOWLING GREEN Ky.-The weather just started to cool, and certain community organizations are getting ready to lend a helping hand to those who need it this winter, in the form of coats, pants, and socks just to name a few.

The Bowling Green VA Clinic is partnering with the Kentucky Veteran’s Brigade to ensure that everyone has what they need for the upcoming winter. The sad reality is, not everyone has these resources.

“It’s heartbreaking. There’s really no need for it because our community supports us greatly. We have those means here and we collect for them. Getting the word out that we’re here and we have those things is vital,” Said VA Clinic center operations director Penny Ritchie.

To further help, an initiative called the Coats For Kids Drive collects warm coats for local children. The Bowling Green Police Department are in on the action, and a cruiser has already been filled with coats.

“The thing I think about is that there are kids who are standing out at bus stops when it could be raining, snowing, under 30 degrees, and we just want them to have the warmth and comfort that everyone else has,” said Bowling Green Junior Women’s Club President Magen Estep.

With warm bodies, come warm hearts.

“It makes me feel great. This is such a huge impact and it’s not just the cruiser. We’ve got the cruiser full, but we also have boxes all over the community, it just makes such a big difference,” Estep said.

The Coats For Kids Drive will be running through December 1.