Hillcrest Rotary Sunrise Club Delivers Coats to Homeless People

Following the club's motto of "service above self," members of the Hillcrest Rotary Sunrise Club gathered up about 50 coats and donated them to homeless people to help them keep a little warmer this winter.

Club members contributed coats that were in good condition, but maybe weren't worn very often. Rather than give them to a nonprofit organization, the intent was to hand them out directly to the people needing them.

"Our original plan was to drop them off to homeless people as we saw them on the street," Rotary club member Anthony Corrao said.

However, uncertain weather might have made it difficult to find intended recipients, so club members instead took the coats to St. Augustine Church, which has a homeless shelter and a hunger center.

"We lined up coats on two larger tables and they formed a line and picked what they wanted," Corrao said.

He said Rotary club members were happy to see how excited the people were to get the coats.

"That was truly touching. It really made an impact. Some of them had light coats on," Corrao said.

The coats also came with a note – "you are loved" – attached to homemade cookies inserted into pockets.

"The best part was that my wife baked cookies that we put in pockets with a message," Corrao said. "When they see that, they stop what they're doing and they come up to you. That was very touching."