The Coats for Kids program has found its saviour.
Slated to fold at the end of this month without a space from which to operate, the program run by the local Lions Clubs will continue after all, thanks to Jeff Mayhew, owner of Design Plastics International in Newmarket.
He is providing new rent-free space in his building on Nicholson Street for the much needed program that provides new and gently used winter coats to families who might not be able to afford them otherwise.
For the past seven winters, the Lions distributed the coats from a storefront on Gorham Street owned by one of the founding members of the North Newmarket Lions, Jim Wilson, who is retiring from his business now.
Volunteers from the North Newmarket Lions, Newmarket Lions, and Newmarket Lioness are working on the move into the new space at 1145 Nicholson Rd., Unit 1.
"We're hoping to be operational starting Oct. 31. Just in time for winter," Leah Springford, program coordinator, said.
With no new location on the horizon, it had looked as though a coat giveaway in the parking lot of the Newmarket Church of Christ on Thanksgiving weekend might be the program's last event. Some of their remaining stock of coats were sent north to First Nation communities and to a coat drive in Cannington.
"We got rid of some of our coats, and then I got an email from this gentleman saying, 'I hear you are losing your home, I've got a space,'" Springford recalled.
Mayhew said he couldn't just stand by and see the program close.
"I think I learned about their plight from NewmarketToday, actually. I came across the story that they were closing and were giving away all their stuff. They're a valuable community resource and I would hate to see it lost, especially during times like COVID-19 when people are experiencing so much hardship."
Mayhew is providing the program a corner of his showroom to use for their purposes.
Springford thanks Mayhew for his generosity and enthusiasm for getting the program back up and running.
"It's incredibly exciting and the generosity on display here is second to none. Sometimes I can't believe there are people like that in the world, who will just give you a space," she said. "It restores your faith in humanity, I tell you."
Once the location is ready at the end of the month, the new storefront will be open Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.
