LOUISVILLE — Four-years-ago, Makenzie Smith paused with the idea of wanting to reach out to help those in need within her community, so she approached her friends and family and ended up with 79 coats to give to those in need during the winter.
“My second-grade teacher told us a story about the less fortunate, and I came home that day and said that we need to start a coat collection to keep the homeless warm. I think that I get what I want, but they don’t get what they want, so I decided to give back to people in need,” said Makenzie Smith, who lives in Borden and said she aspires to be a interior designer. “I want to do this for the rest of my life.”
Her mom, Carrie Smith, said that she was very proud and that the idea seemed innocent enough. Makenzie , now 11, has led a coat drive each year following that, and this year she, along with the help of family and friends, gathered 4,061 coats that were distributed at the Cathedral of the Assumption, located in downtown Louisville, this past Tuesday.
Last year they gathered 1,021 coats that were distributed at St. Vincent de Paul, also in Louisville.
“We actually got in the car yesterday and I looked back and said there’s two boxes of coats back there that we didn’t get out, and then we even had some more back in the house,” Makenzie Smith said the day of the coat distribution, a program now widely known as Makenzie’ Coat Closet.
“I’m extremely proud, of course,” Carrie Smith said. “I didn’t think we’d have this many [coats] but I knew we’d get close, but I didn’t know we would hit that number and exceed,” said Carrie.
In order to accommodate the thousands of coats that came pouring in from churches, schools and businesses throughout Louisville and Southern Indiana, the Smiths borrowed a trailer from a friend. Carrie Smith said that even with the trailer, the coats were all over the house. The need to transport the coats also was of importance, so Packaging Unlimited of Louisville donated boxes designated with the “Makenzie’s Closet” logo.
As Linda Romine, of St. Vincent de Paul said, “It’s really Makenzie’s show and we’re just helping. We had more walk-ins than we anticipated, and there was a line of people all the way to Fifth Street for the first hour we were open.”
Romine helps distribute information about the coat drive and Makenzie’s family helps out with other tasks to operate a successful event.
“Because I’m a stay-at-home mom, I have the luxury of doing the logistical part. She cannot drive around to pick up the coats and boxes,” said Carrie Smith.
Carrie Smith added that within the next year, the Smith family will register Makenzie’s Closet as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
“That will help out, even with purchasing the new coats. We have a lot of cash donations this year and turned it into new coats. We had $700 in cash that we were able to use for coats,” she said.
The money is used to purchase coats for children, because that is the greatest need.
Agencies such as The Salvation Army, Greater Clark County Schools and New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. collected coats. Romine said NA-FC Schools were given 200 coats to distribute.
Rutherford Elementary School teacher Felicia Hankins gathered several coats for her Kentucky students.
“It’s awfully nice of them to help these kids,” said Hankins as she collected coats for two second-graders, a fourth- and fifth-grader.
Homeless shelters such as the one operated by Haven House Services Inc. also were welcome, but this year the Haven House didn’t have the need for coats, even though there are currently 85 clients, 20 of whom are children.
“People have been very generous bringing food, coats and toys to the shelter. I can’t seem to go anywhere without getting coats, so I didn’t want to bother the Makenzie Closet if we didn’t need it,” said Haven House Executive Barbara Anderson.
Lashanda Gaye, of Louisville, and her son benefited from the Makenzie’s Coat Closet for the first time this year.
“I needed a coat for the kids, and for myself. I want to say thank you so much,” Gaye said. “Makenzie did a great job, and thank you for helping because there’s a lot of people who need it, and I need it too.”
— Amanda Arnold is a freelance journalist who lives in New Albany. Link to Jeffersonville/New Albany News and Tribune article.
