Midlands Residents Give 2,000 Coats to the Northeast

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — A little warmth is one step closer to Northeast residents affected by Hurricane Sandy. “I look at these boxes and I see hope, I see that people see that there are loving care people in the world,” says Kim Rich, who organized the Carolina Cares: Coats, Hats & Gloves Drive. Over 2,000 coats were collected through the Carolina Cares: Coats, Hats & Gloves Drive held throughout the Midlands. Wednesday afternoon volunteers worked to box the donations. Crandall Sims reporting,”The coats,hats and gloves are in these 28 boxes, heading to the Northeast. In each coat pocket is this card that says, ‘Carolina Cares, sending a little warmth and love from Columbia, SC. We are thinking of you.” “We want them to know that, you know, these came from love, this came from the people of Carolina that we care about you, that you are not alone and you are not forgotten,” says Rich. Rich, who is from New Jersey, says she organized the drive after hearing stories of devastation from family and friends still living there. Also from the Northeast, Chuck Lange who owns Lange Moving Systems. After hearing about the drive Lange offered his warehouse to box up all the donations. “I figured sometimes I can’t always write a check, but with trucks and men maybe I could help out that way,” Lange. Now that everything is boxed up, the next stop is the Northeast. The truck will leave this weekend and the coats are expected to arrive in the Northeast by Monday.