About Coats for Kids
Coats for Kids began in 1999 to provide winter coats to needy students in Davenport, Diocese of Davenport, and Pleasant Valley Schools.
The program is named after Dr. David E. Lane, an administrator in Davenport Schools, who was on the program’s organizing committee when he died in 1999.
In 2001, Coats for Kids was relocated to the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency in Bettendorf due to space issues at Davenport Schools
It expanded during 2002-2003 to include more school districts in Clinton, Jackson, Muscatine, and Scott Counties as well as parts of Cedar and Louisa Counties.
Coats for Kids relies on donations of gently used children’s coats by local residents and funding from community members, local businesses, and community organizations.
Funding for the program is used to purchase coats that are still needed after coat donations from the community and to clean the donated used coats.
The Program operates on volunteer power; they send, receive, sort, and fill order forms.
Order forms are sent to schools and community agencies in the area to be filled out so kids who need coats receive them.
The coats are distributed via Mississippi Bend AEA van delivery in Eastern Iowa, or they can be picked up at Mississippi Bend AEA in Bettendorf, Iowa.
Coats for Kids was restructured between 2007-2008 to include a Board of Directors, Operational Group, Communication Group, and Foundation account to self-sustain program for future area students in need. The Program expanded to schools in Western Illinois.
Since the program's inception, the Dr. David E. Lane Coats for Kids Program has distributed 36,951 coats have been distributed to area children, fulfilling their basic needs.