Ask a New Yorker: Is it Melissa, Missy or Micheala?…My cousin was a Missy,
but is now a Micheala, who started out as a Melissa.
Melissa: Melissa is my real name but I go by Missy.
Ask a New Yorker: So tell us a little about what you do?
Melissa: I’ve been at New York Cares
for eight years. This is the coat drive’s main location you’re
in right now. We collected last year over 89,000 coats from New Yorkers and
we give them out to people who need them. So this is kind of the back end of
what people see in the subways and around the city from our coat drive campaign
with the shivering Statue of Liberty.
Ask a New Yorker: What an awesome location. I love all the windows.
Melissa: We’re fortunate to get this space donated by Jack
Resnick and Sons. Normally we don’t have such plush digs. This year
we have 10,000 square feet with windows. In years past we’ve been in basements,
subbasements with no heat. But this year we have heat, lights, elevators, bathrooms.
It’s fantastic.
Ask a New Yorker: So this is one location for drop offs. Where else can people
bring their coats?
Melissa: We have drop off points at every police precinct. Janovic Plaza stores,
transportation terminals, Grand Central Station, Penn Station, Port Authority
and 700 companies and civic organizations collect coats, too.
Ask a New Yorker: I’m still stunned by the amount of coats that you collect.
Are they all given out?
Melissa: We do give them all out. Kids, for instance, grow out of their coats
every year. Homeless people can’t store their coats. Once they use them
in the winter they’re not going to carry it around with them the rest
of the year. Also people need them for job interviews, or they might be new
immigrants to New York City and don’t have a coat. So the need is always
there every year. So we do give out every coat. We give out every hanger. We
give out every piece of clothing. This year we have a suitcase that will be
gone.
Ask a New Yorker: Here’s a cowboy hat….
Melissa: Yes. And right here we have clothing so we separate it all, into men’s
and women’s and children’s clothing. The need is always there.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s the strangest thing you’ve found in a pocket?
Melissa: We found a bed pan.
Ask a New Yorker: Wow. …what are these black bags about? They look a little
ominous.
Melissa: The black bags identify that we’ve sorted them. As we were just
talking about , people donate all types of things which are sorted into men’s,
women’s’ and children’s sections. It’s also helps when
non -profit agencies come to pick up and need say, 300 coats, it’s easy
for us to pull them.
Ask a New Yorker: How many coats have you given out so far?
Melissa: That’s a question for Tara.
Tara walks over. That’s a picture of her waving from the truck.
Tara: We’ve given out around 11,000.
Ask a New Yorker: That’s a lot of plastic. Are you green?
Melissa: We’re getting green. When people bring their donated coats often
they are in plastic shopping bags so we have a huge room for recycling.
Ask a New Yorker: So where are you from originally?
Melissa: I’m from Madison, WI. Go Packers!
Ask a New Yorker: have you ever been to a Packers game?
Melissa: No, I haven’t been lucky enough to get Packer
tickets.
Ask a New Yorker: Are you heading home for Christmas?
Melissa: Yes, I am. I’m really excited to be home for the holidays and
have some cheese curds.
Ask a New Yorker: And some custard.
Melissa:(laughter)And some frozen custard! My backround is Norwegian so we’ll
also be having some traditional Norwegian
food that you can’t get in NYC.
Ask a New Yorker: Back to New York Cares. The coat drive is just one aspect
of your giving throughout the year. What else do you do?
Melissa: We do over 900 projects a month from walking dogs to animal shelters
to tutoring children in after school programs. Any New Yorker can get involved
and it’s a way to give back to New York City. We’re open 365 days
a year, after work, so to the busy New Yorker –we would love for you to volunteer
with us.
Ask a New Yorker: What a great organization. Thank you so much!
