How an East Hants non-profit group keeps residents bundled up for winter

Catherine Miller realized there was a need to provide for her community in East Hants when her granddaughters' teachers asked for winter coats for some students. 

Years later, Miller heads the Community Offering Assistance Together Association, or COAT. She says its mandate is to provide winter clothing for those who need it.

"It wasn't really ever a planned thing," Miller said. "Every year, word got out and it grew a little bit more and it grew a little bit more. I did it out of our basement in the house for quite a while. It's way, way… beyond that."

Hundreds of East Hants residents have donated winter coats, snow pants, hats and mittens at different locations in the municipality, including at food banks and community centres. Since September, they have collected over 700 donated clothing items and distributed them around the municipality. 

Miller and volunteers bring a portion of these donations to the Nova Centre in Elmsdale to host the Big Give event. This year's event, held Saturday, allowed community members to retrieve what they need for themselves or family members at no cost.

Whatever is left from the giveaway is donated to food banks and charity organizations in the municipality. 

Miller said the work removes some of the financial pressure households have been facing due to rising costs. 

"If you can get a coat that you need that you don't have to go out and pay $100 for, that's $100 more groceries you can buy or $100 more you have to put towards a child's hockey or dance," said Miller. 

Miller said the clothing giveaway also served to keep second-hand clothes out of landfills. 

The Nova Centre, which was a former school in Elmsdale, has been the primary location of the Big Give event for the last four years. 

Miller said during last year's event, they used old classrooms and hallways to display their large collection of donated clothing items. 

"As long as we had a facility other than Cathy's basement, we could collect them, make sure the zippers work, make sure they were clean, and then offer them to the community to come and choose for themselves," said Norma MacIntyre, the organization's secretary.

On Saturday, the association had to share its main facility with Elections Nova Scotia where voters filtered in and out of the Hants East returning office. 

Although this limited the event to one room, Miller said it did not deter the organization from giving away over 150 winter coats and clothing items to people.

"So much can be done with so little," said Miller.