Turlock children get warm coats, more

They stood in line on a chilly afternoon, patiently waiting to get some warmth.

Hundreds of children, referred by their schools, took part in the first day of Westside Ministries’ three-day Coats 4 Kids event.

This is the 20th or 21st year of the event, said JoLynn DiGrazia, who keeps saying she is retiring as executive director of the nonprofit group she started but always seems to be around, running things.

The giveaway was inspired by the death of a sixth-grader.

“It started after a girl in our ministry, Becky Valencia, died from meningitis,” DiGrazia said. “She didn’t have a coat. She didn’t get meningitis because of that, but it was a way for us to remember her.”

Westside staff collects the coats year-round, and works with schools that refer children to the event. In addition to a warm coat, children receive a toy and an outfit. They also could take advantage of volunteer hair stylists on hand to offer a trim and staff from Walgreens providing flu shots.

Families also were invited to join in a warm dinner of posole and tostadas, and there was donated food to be taken home, as well.

With so many years of experience, staff and volunteers have the process down to a science. Only a handful of coats in each size are put out at a time, so as to minimize agonizing over which coat to select. Each child was accompanied by a volunteer who made sure he or she got the right size.

They then moved onto the toy room to pick out a ball or a game before heading back to meet their parents.

Ramon Ramos, 11, selected a coat he described as “cool” before picking out a soccer ball from the toy room.

Edgar Avila, 2, liked just about every coat volunteer Enesyia Saldana tried on him – DiGrazia instructed volunteers to have the children lift their arms up to make sure the coats weren’t too small.

Finally, Saldana found the perfect fit and a delighted Edgar joined his two other brothers in picking out footballs.

The winter gear came at a great time, as the forecast for the next several days is for cold and rainy conditions.

National Weather Service forecasters predict highs of only the mid-50s into the weekend, with overnight lows dipping down into the 30s. A storm system is expected to move into the area on Friday, with a 20 percent chance of rain that night increasing to 60 percent by Saturday.

The coat giveaway continues Thursday and Friday, and on Sunday any child who didn’t get something can come back and pick out a toy and, if there are any left, a coat.

Westside could use some more toy donations, DiGrazia said. Though several businesses and the U.S. post office contribute toys, collected all year, the count is down by about half from last year, she said.

For more information or to donate, call Westside Ministries at 209-667-8593.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Turlock children get warm coats, more."