MOSES LAKE — The Rotary Club of Moses Lake kicked off its annual Coats for Kids drive on Saturday, with 10 drop boxes made available around Moses Lake for people to donate coats.

A project of the Rotary Club and Cobie’s Fine Dry Cleaning in Moses Lake, the drive focuses on ensuring that as many kids and families in need of winter coats are covered before colder weather arrives. Donations can be made at any of the drop boxes in town up until the distribution on Nov. 9 at the Boys & Girls Club next to Park Orchard Elementary School.

Steve Ausere is president of the Rotary Club of Moses Lake this year. He said the club members have been holding the annual event as long as he has been involved with the organization.

With everything going on currently with COVID-19, he said they wanted to be sure they still held the event this year. Many people are without jobs, or uncertain of what the future looks like for them and their families, he said.

“There’s so much uncertainty going on right now,” Ausere said. “With the Rotary Club, we felt it’s still important to do this drive and get coats into the hands of kids that don’t have one.”

Cobie’s Fine Dry Cleaning has volunteered to clean and prepare all of the donated coats free of charge. Ausere said it’s great to see the community and local businesses step up to assist their neighbors with something like this drive.

He said he contacted a few businesses in town to ask about placing drop boxes outside their building, and virtually everyone said yes.

“It’s great to see the community really rallying around others,” he said.

In the past, he said they’ve typically received up to 500 coats, hats and gloves during the drive each year. With people not getting out as much the last few months, Ausere said he would feel great about getting between 350 to 400 coats this year.

Holly Moos, a local community member, helped out with a huge chunk of that this year. Ausere said Moos contacted him saying she had a load of coats to donate, but he didn’t expect to fill up the bed of his truck. She brought 190 coats.

“She’ll start right now for next year, and she goes to different yard sales, or people who are getting rid of stuff, and she’ll buy all of their coats,” Ausere said. “She’ll do that all year long and has done this every year.”

He said, without question, she donates more coats each year than any other individual.

It’s difficult to recognize the struggles that other people go through sometimes without having been in that situation personally, Ausere said. Recognizing the struggles of something like being homeless can be hard to fathom.

People who are struggling, or homeless, right now are not just adults, he said. They are sometimes entire families.

“Being outside in January in Moses Lake can kill you if you don’t have the proper coat, if you don’t have the proper shelter,” Ausere said. “Helping anybody have access to a warm coat, it can mean life or death for individuals.”