Hundreds of coats hanging on a fence are ready to be given away from the ‘Wall of Warmth’
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IDAHO FALLS — The ‘Wall of Warmth’ is fully stocked and ready to go for its second year.
Hundreds of coats were hung early Monday morning on a long fence near Action Motor Sports on Lincoln Road. A large sign reads, ‘Need a coat? Take one. Have a spare? Leave one.’ Valorie Smith from Valorie’s List at Idaho’s Real Estate came up with the idea last year.
“We had no idea it would go like it did last year,” Smith tells EastIdahoNews.com. “Our goal was to give away 500 coats and we gave away just short of that number. We were worried that we would put up all these coats and nobody would come and get them because we didn’t know what the need was.”
That worry was quickly alleviated as the first batch of coats disappeared but donations from the public kept the ‘Wall of Warmth’ going for weeks. This year Smith hopes to give away 600 coats.
“It was so exciting to see the community come together and give away all these coats,” Smith says.
The ‘Wall of Warmth’ will remain up until Dec. 1 or until the coats run out. There are child and adult sizes hanging on the fence and anyone is welcome to take one without charge.
If you would like to donate to the project, coats can be dropped off in Idaho Falls at Action Motor Sports, Austin Kade Academy, Northstar Healthcare and Lyle Amado Barbershop. Coats in Rexburg can be donated at Idaho’s Real Estate.
“We want everybody to be warm this year. Nobody should be cold,” Smith says.
