County rivals work together to collect coats for kids

South Putnam High School students Amanda Lund, Rachel Egold, Drew Cash and Emily Baker joined with Cloverdale High School students Sam Jobless, Daina Pina, Nikki Collins, Mark Tyler and Jordan Brinkman in a contest against North Putnam and Greencastle High Schools this Friday night to see which set of teams collects the most coats for kids. [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Instead, the teams will work together to collect Coats for Kids. GHS and NPHS will face off against CHS and SPH to see who can collect the most coats during their Friday night football games.

"Even though the teams, fans and community will be looking for a school victory on the field, off the field we're uniting as one in an effort to provide coats for so many of Putnam County's children," said Linda Merkel, Youth Development Commission.

"What a good opportunity to promote teamwork through community involvement. The goal is to collect as many coats as possible, while embracing a competition between the two teams," she added.

Coats for Kids kicked off its 10th annual campaign this fall with a goal of collecting over 750 coats for the youth of Putnam County. Yellow boxes began appearing at all the county's elementary, middle and high schools, including Area 30 Career Center, Ivy Tech Community College and DePauw University Student Union Building on Sept. 8.

Boxes are also available at many businesses and organizations including the Putnam County Hospital, Putnam County Library, Kroger, Wal-Mart Supercenter, Wal-Mart Distribution, Crown Equipment, Greencastle City Hall, The Waters of Greencastle, Old National Bank, First National Bank and North Salem State Bank.

The campaign officially began on Sept. 9 and will run through Oct. 9.

Sarah Denny and Dakota Malayer, North Putnam High School, Nathaniel Velasquez, Dakota Miller, Miranda Patterson, Jesse Ford, Kimberlyn Fenwick and Jordan Hickum, all of Greencastle High School and Katie Stewart and Elsiana Crosby, North Putnam put aside their football rivalry to work together for Coats for Kids. They will be collecting clean, used and new coats during Friday night's football game. [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

New and gently used coats for children of all ages including infant through the teen years are needed. Coats that need to be dry-cleaned will not be accepted.

Coats will be readied for distribution on Oct. 31 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Harris Hall at the Putnam County Fairgrounds. Thanks to Wal-Mart Supercenter, each child will also receive a pair of mittens and hat to go with their coat.

For more information about this program or to volunteer, contact Linda Merkel at the Putnam County Youth Development Commission 653-9342.