Our Mission
To provide brand new warm winter coats for local elementary school children in need. To sustain our program for many years to come where 100% of funds are used for coats. To continue to seek additional grants and charitable giving programs to expand our reach until every child in need is provided a warm winter coat.
Our History
In 2009 we learned about a local school where many of their kindergartners didn’t have winter coats. We started to fundraise internally from our team at Doyle & Ogden Insurance. That first year we donated 50 brand new warm winter coats to Harrison Park Elementary. We started to gain a better understanding of how great the need is and started reaching out to other schools to partner with, adding more each year. We applied for charitable giving programs from the companies we do business with and over the last 15 years have provided over 6500 winter coats to local elementary school children in need.
Our Schools
Our partner schools are determined by the percentage of students on the free breakfast and lunch program and qualify for Kids Food Basket sack supper program. All but one or our partner schools has a KSSN (Kent Social Services Network) representative assisting the students and their families. Without the KSSN representatives’ efforts to determine the children in need we could not be successful. Below are the schools we currently partner with.
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Harrison Park Elementary
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San Juan Diego Academy
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Godfrey Lee Early Childhood Center
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Godfrey Lee Elementary
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Gladiola Elementary
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Meadow Ridge Elementary
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Cesar E. Chavez Elementary
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Dickinson Elementary
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Burton Elementary
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Southwest Elementary
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This is what our school partners have to say…
“The amazing people at Doyle and Ogden Insurance Advisors have partnered with Harrison Park for over the last decade. To say we are grateful for them is an understatement. They have provided our neediest children with the most beautiful, warm winter coats every winter. Watching the kids try on their new coats and light up is the best part of my job – we are truly a school deep in the heart of poverty and we are also a walking school district. Their donations help us with our goal of improving attendance here at Harrison Park. There are so many children that can’t walk to school on the frigid cold winter days because they don’t have the appropriate outerwear. Thankfully, Doyle and Ogden always comes in before those days arrive. We truly appreciate their generosity and hope to continue to work with them for years to come.” says Alicia Heintz, DHHS, Harrison Park Elementary
“Doyle & Ogden’s Coats for Kids Program has been a faithful partnership to Godfrey-Lee. Before having that partnership, trying to find coats for our students who needed warmer options or couldn’t purchase any, was a task and required assistance from various other partnerships. Since, I love how easy and reliable it is to request coats from the program. Members from Doyle & Ogden would deliver them and just seeing the kids’ faces beam as they got their new coats is a blessing. We are SO thankful for this program and thankful for their commitment to keeping our students suited for our winter months!” Says Bianca Edwards, Community School Coordinator, Godfrey -Lee Early Childhood Center, Grand Rapids, MI
“Southwest Elementary School Academia Bilingual is a low-income school where all students attending received free breakfast and lunch. Our children and families are always in need of basic items such as food, clothing, and shelter. These necessities are often filled by community partners like Doyle & Ogden Insurance, which not only provides us with over 100 winter coats per year but helps us in other areas such as helping with our unhouse families. They have blessed us with gift cards, gifts and most importantly with coats.”- Says Teresa Cruz-Vega, Community School Coordinator, Southwest Elementary School
Our Goal
2024 marks 15 years of Coats for Kids! In 2023 we donated 1202 brand new warm winter coats to 18 schools and organizations in need. To continue this and expand, we need to raise $10K to sustain the partnerships we have.
The Reality
The reality is that West Michigan winters are brutal and a large percentage of the children in need walk to school. Without a warm winter coat students don’t attend school. Subsequently, they don’t have breakfast and lunch that day, or receive their sack supper from Kid’s Food Basket, and they fall behind in their education. That is why we say “It Is So Much More Than A Coat!”
Make A Difference
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Donate funds. Checks should be made out to the Doyle & Ogden Insurance and reference Coats for Kids. Mail to 3330 Broadmoor SE, Ste. E, Grand Rapids, MI 49512
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Tell us about an organization or company that has a charitable giving program
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Spread the word in your community about Coats for Kids
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Suggest a school in need
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Volunteer to deliver coats
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Join us for our bag and tag event in February
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Like us on Facebook and share posts about Coats for Kids.