Salvation Army outfits kids for winter
Zoey D’Armiento’s purple and gray winter parka, embossed with tiny stars, is as colorful and lively as its 8-yearold wearer.
“It’s really comfy inside,” she says. “And it even has a secret hidden pocket.”
With her siblings — Johanna, 10, and William, 11 — Zoey got a new winter coat on last October’s Make A Difference Day through the Salvation Army of Greater Rochester’s Project Bundle Up.
In the annual effort, buses took Rochester-area children — 323 on Make A Difference Day — to three area department stores. There, 275 volunteers helped each child pick out a winter coat, the costs covered by donations and foundation spending. A small number of children unable to attend the one-day event had coats chosen for them.
Last year’s Make A Difference Day marked the 14th year for the Salvation Army effort, which usually is followed by a hat and glove drive.
While outfitting kids for the winter is the primary goal, the kids also benefit by interacting with volunteers, says Lynn Mulvey, Salvation Army of Greater Rochester director of development.
“They see that the greater community cares for them,” Mulvey says.
Children can participate once every two years; the Project Bundle Up coats are always purchased a size too large, to accommodate for growth.
John and Stacy D’Armiento of Greece, have taken advantage of Project Bundle Up multiple times over the past six years as they raise five adopted children.
“It helps us out financially, with not having to pay for a coat when we could use that money to buy boots or hat and gloves,” Stacy D’Armiento says. “The cost of utilities going up in the winter months — that’s always an issue.
“And it gives the kids an outing to look forward to and have fun at the same time. They meet new people, they like the staff that helps them pick out the coats.”