Our first coat drive in Louisville and Radcliff was an amazing success, with over 800 coats collected and given away to the less fortunate.  Groups began lining up at 8:30am for the 10am start.  We are looking forward to next year!

Here is a great article by Chris Quay of the Courier-Journal, who spent some time with us on Friday:

‘Buy Nothing’ coat exchange celebrates the spirit of giving

The black and white sign advertising the “Buy Nothing Day Coat Exchange” in the parking lot of the Green building on Market Street Friday morning looked innocuous — but what was
happening behind it was magic.

The premise of the first-time event was simple: Anyone who wanted to donate a coat could drop one off and anyone who needed a coat could pick one off one of the racks in the parking lot, and if it fit, go on their way — at no cost and with no strings attached.

Ted Loebenberg, the organizer, called the coat exchange, which had a successful debut on Black Friday, the “antithesis” to the commercialization of the holiday season.

While droves of shoppers crowded department stores, the charitable event focused on giving
and receiving, with no cash changing hands. “We didn’t need any money,” Loebenberg said.

The event was held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and by early on, about 300 coats had been
exchanged. The event was also held in Radcliff at the Colvin Community Center, Loebenberg
said.

“We had high hopes,” said Stephanie Brothers the event planner and marketing director for the
Green Building, which is at 732 E. Market St. She said Loebenberg contacted them about hosting the event and they were more than willing.

Loebenberg, of Brokers Unlimited Inc. Professional Auctioneers, has lived in Louisville
for about three years, but said he worked with a similar effort in his native Rhode Island for more than a decade before coming to Kentucky.

Loebenberg said the event motivates people to help others, which is important all year, not just
during the holidays. He said he had no expectations about the number coats that would
be donated and handed out.

“If I gave out one coat it would have been successful,” he said.

Reporter Chris Quay can be reached at (502) 582-4241.