There are still several weeks of summer ahead, but members of Trinity United Methodist Church are already thinking about people who will need warm coats later this year.
Part One of Trinity’s fourth annual Community Coat Redistribution project starts next week, said Karla Essmiller with the church missions committee. For the next two weeks, people are invited to bring gently used coats and jackets to one of the collection points in Great Bend:
• Master Cleaners, 4600 10th St. Pl. — off the K-96  junction with 10th St.
• Trinity United Methodist Church, 5700 Broadway Ave.
• Any Great Bend public school
Coats will be accepted through Monday, Sept. 15, and will be cleaned by Master Cleaners, which has donated this service for several years now in Hays and Great Bend.
Part Two is the coat distribution. Anyone can come to the church between the hours of 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, to get a free coat. There are no income restrictions and no questions asked, Essmiller said. Absolutely anyone who wants a free coat will be welcome to browse the selection.
People of all ages, all sizes and all income levels are invited to participate in this community recycling event. “We’re really wanting to get more kids’ coats this year,” Essmiller said.
“The project has been very successful and very appreciated by people who come in and get the coats,” she said. “We did over 700 last year.”
At the end of the drive, a group in Ellinwood collects the remaining coats for another missions project, she added. “They all get handed out somewhere.”