WINTER COAT AND BOOT DRIVE HUGE SUCCESS

Bountiful collection of boots at St. John”™s Episcopal Church in Larchmont.

Hearts and Homes for Refugees, one of Westchester”™s leading grassroots humanitarian organizations, partnered with Neighbors for Refugees to co-host a Winter Coat and Boot Drive at St. John”™s Episcopal Church in Larchmont.

Volunteer coordinator Ruth Gyure organized more than 50 volunteers from the American Muslim Women”™s Association, Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts of America, Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation at White Plains, Hebrew Institute of White Plains, students from Manhattanville College, Mercy College, the French-American School of New York and United Nations International School, Students for Refugees volunteers from Scarsdale, Pelham, Mamaroneck, Rye Neck and Sleepy Hollow. The organizers were able to collect, sort and deliver much-needed winter coats and boots to 500 refugees throughout the tri-state area.

“We are simply blown away by the outpouring of support and endless generosity of everyone who made this year”™s coat and boot drive our most successful to date,” said Kathie O”™Callaghan, president and founder of Hearts & Homes for Refugees. “We didn”™t know what to expect, given the challenging circumstances created by the pandemic. There was so much goodwill coming our way. And even though there were fewer volunteers due to social distancing requirements, the *Fab 50* packed a punch working intensely over three days, proving that quality counts when quantity is limited.”