Help Keep Your Neighbors Warm This Winter

Coats for the Cold is an annual coat drive where Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries collects thousands of coats for those in our region who may otherwise not have a coat during the quickly approaching winter months. tnConnect is proud to serve as a collection point for new or gently used men’s, women’s, and children’s coats between October 15 and October 31. We are accepting donations in the our lobbies.

COATS FOR THE COLD HISTORY
This drive has been a KNoxville tradition since 1985. WIVK-FM started the coat drive when a news story reported a homeless man had frozen to death on the streets fo Knoxville one cold winter night. Since then, Coats for the Cold strikes a powerful chord among the volunteers of East TN. KARM now spearheads the drive in partenership with WIVK-FM, WVLT-TV, and Prestige Cleaners.

In 2023, the East TN community helped collect 9,433 coats. Of those, they gave away 8,985 coats in the Knoxville area; remaining coats were given to Mission of Hope to be distributed in rural Appalachian areas.