Steve's Coats

STEVE’S COATS: Follow the journey of one coat to its special owner

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 2018 Steve’s Coats for Kids drive was a huge success and, as always, was spearheaded by chief meteorologist Steve Udelson.

[Steve's Coats for Kids]

People and organizations from all over the Charlotte area came in droves to donate 24,041 coats to children in need. It’s a record. That’s 24,041 kids who will have a warm winter coat as temperatures drop in the Carolinas.

Channel 9 followed the path one coat took to get to its special owner.

It started off on its journey from a huge load of coats from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Local students collected them and dropped them off at Channel 9’s studios.

A tan coat caught our eye, but it was what we called “gently used” and needed a little attention.

It was sent to Cintas, where every coat donated to the Steve’s Coats for Kids drive is inspected and given a lot of tender, love, and care.

“I don’t wanna say, ‘work miracles’ but we can do a lot of things to our garments that you wouldn’t think would be possible as far as getting things clean and making them look almost new again,” Amy Benson, with Cintas, said.

The little tan coat got a thorough checkup, with buttons and seams reinforced and professional cleaning.

The end result: good as new.

Then the little coat headed off to Crisis Assistance Ministry, where single mom Quinetta was in desperate need of coats for her kids.

“I lost my job a few months ago, so things have been a little tough,” Quinetta said.

Her daughter Aliyah had her eye on that little tan coat.

She tried and it on and it fit just right.

So just days after it was donated, that little tan coat made its way to the perfect little girl, which is what Steve’s Coats for Kids is all about.