North Fulton Charities Celebrates Warm Coat Day With Girl Scouts

ROSWELL, GA — Twenty-five years ago, in 1994, Girl Scout Cadet Troop 628 from Crabapple Middle School started a coat drive and distribution for North Fulton Community Charities. On Oct. 26, North Fulton Charities celebrated the 25th Annual Warm Coat Day.

Andrea Weitzman, the former troop leader along with troop members Naomi (Weitzman) Ouellette, Kate Rivers and Sara Bigsby attended the anniversary of the program they started. There were seven Girl Scouts in the original troop. Other members not in attendance included Lindsay (Caye) Gilliland, Vanessa (Winfield) Hewerdine, Candace Braskich and Ashley Clark.

North Fulton Community Charities distributed 1,892 items including coats, jackets, hats, scarves and gloves, for adults and children. This year, the program served 246 families in North Fulton with the help of 145 volunteers who helped with collecting, sorting and distribution. Community coat drives were held by schools, churches, neighborhoods and civic groups.

Weitzman was the troop leader for the Girl Scout troop that started Warm Coat Day 25 years ago.

“The girls in Troop 628 were very involved in service projects," she said. "It's very gratifying that the warm coat drive is still going strong since its inception 25 years ago.”

Warm Coat Day is the first event of the North Fulton Community Charities Holiday Program. The program continues with a Thanksgiving Food Program, a Sponsored Families Program and Santa Shop. Holiday Baskets are also provided to over 150 local senior residents in November and December. This holiday assistance relieves the additional financial stress for families living in poverty or from paycheck to paycheck. All the families live in the cities of Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park and Roswell. For more information on donating or volunteering to the remaining programs visit nfccholiday.org.

The North Fulton Community Charities Holiday Program is presented by Macy’s and WellStar North Fulton Hospital. The space for the program was donated by the Hubert Realty Company.