For the fifth year in a row, Algonquin Outfitters (AO) wants to help ensure everyone in our community stays warm outside this winter. The store’s annual winter coat drive launched on November 1 outside The Table Soup Kitchen with AO’s donation of five new Point Zero jackets along with a few coats donated by AO customers.
“This helps to fill such a need in our community,” said Heather Berg, CEO and founder of The Table Soup Kitchen Foundation which receives the donated coats in Huntsville. “We pass them out to help keep people warm in winter and they’re always gone quickly. We are so grateful that AO and their customers donate them.”
All of the gently used donated coats – and any others donated through the month – will be available for pick up at The Table on Tuesdays and Fridays from 12-3 and Saturdays from 10-1. The Table will hold a draw for the five new jackets with the winners being announced in mid-November.
“Every year we donate about 100 jackets that customers bring in,” said Randy Mitson, AO’s Marketing Manager. “It’s a great, feel-good community initiative. Rich and Sue (Swift) are so community-oriented and this is one of the many ways they give back.”
To encourage everyone to participate, the store has also launched a buy, give, get promotion: buy any regular-priced winter coat at any AO location during November, donate your old warm, wearable and washed winter coat, and receive a $50 AO gift card toward your next purchase at the store. Don’t need a new coat? Simply donating a warm coat is welcome, too. All of the donated coats will be given to charities in each of AO’s local communities.
Tip for staying warm this winter: layering
Muskoka is a cold place in the winter months. To keep yourself toasty warm when you’re outside, it’s all about layering.
“I always like to relate keeping your body warm with layering to the way you’d keep your house warm,” said Mitson. “You have a furnace in your home that produces heat, the walls have insulation that keeps the heat in, and the shingles and siding protect against wind, rain and snow. Modern homes have a system to remove the humidity, too. You are the furnace producing the heat, the base layer takes care of the moisture, a mid layer provides insulation and keeps heat in, while the outer shell protects against the elements.”
Lightweight wool makes an ideal base layer for its moisture-wicking properties that keep you warm and comfortable even when the fabric is damp. Choose a mid layer appropriate for the weather – fleece for warmer winter days or more vigorous activities, lightweight down for colder days or when you’re not moving as much. Top it off with a breathable windproof and waterproof shell.
If you find that you’re always cold, turn up your furnace: get active, or add some heat to your feet with electronic heated soles or single-use heating pads.
And remember to prepare for the weather when travelling: plan for the worst and hope for the best. “Many of us carry booster cables or even a first aid kit in our car, but how many of us only have on dress shoes for the office and a light jacket?” said Mitson. “I always carry my winter boots, even if just in the back of my car, and a winter jacket. I even go as far as carrying a winter survival kit and a set of snowshoes in case I end up in the ditch on a back road in Muskoka or Algonquin Park on a wintery day.”
For more information about the Algonquin Outfitters Winter Coat Drive, stop in at any AO store or call 705-787-0262.
This is a sponsored story paid for by the featured advertiser
0 Comments