Donna Dobson, who runs Fox and Field Countrywear, in Barnard Castle’s Market Place, launched her coat appeal to bring some warmth to those living on the street during the festive season.
Hundreds of coats were delivered to her shop, often by complete strangers. The coats collected by Ms Dobson were donated to King’s Church, in Darlington, which also distributed coats at its foodbank collection points.
She said: “It was brilliant – it went really well. We ended up taking them in every day.
“People were very generous. Helen Staley, who was our middleman, sent me a lovely email.”
The email read: “I just wanted to let you know how well your lovely coats are being received. Tony took a load to the scran van on Thursday night – which gives out free hot meals to around 50 people – and set up a table with a huge heap of coats on it.
“By the end of the night, there were only two left, so lots of people left with lovely warm snuggly coats. I just thought you might want to know that they really are making a difference to people in real need. Thank you.”
Ms Dobson said a surge of coats were delivered after an article about the appeal was published in the Teesdale Mercury.
She said: “We had people we had never seen before. We had older men – I thought they were farmerly types, who shoved coasts in your hands and said ‘here you go’, and off they went.”
She added that all the coats that were donated were good quality. Following the success of the Christmas appeal, Ms Dobson is hoping to organise another one in the coming months.
She said: “At Easter we might do an appeal for food. I thought for people who use foodbanks, their kids can have Easter eggs.”
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