Annual Community Coat Drive: October 18, 2025

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For . . . I needed clothes and you clothed me.’” Matt. 22:34-36. How are we responding to these words from Jesus?

One way – with a continuing opportunity – is through our congregation’s Fall Coat Drive. Our coat drive is part of our broader benevolence ministry, which emphasizes showing the love of Jesus through tangible acts of service—not just words. It reflects our commitment to local partnerships, dignity in giving, and seasonal responsiveness to real needs.

Each year from and after 2009 (and on a few prior occasions before then), our congregants and persons living near our meetinghouse have donated 150–200 coats. In the weeks leading up to the drive, congregational volunteers have assembled collection bags, sent mailers to local residents and donated some of their own coats. On the morning of the drive, some of our congregants have walked the blocks near our meetinghouse to distribute these bags. In response, coat donors in our neighborhood have placed bagged coats on their porches or sidewalks. Later that same day, our congregants have collected the bags containing these donated coats.

After the drive’s collection day, our congregants have sorted, cleaned, and prepared the donated coats for distribution to needy people through the following local charities:

- Fleet Elementary School: children's coats go to the social worker at this nearby Title 1 school for students in need.

- The Clothesline for Arlington Kids: additional children’s coats are given to other local schoolchildren through this organization.

- Path Forward: adult coats are delivered to this organization serving the homeless in Arlington.

- Refugee Resource Center: remaining coats are distributed to refugees in the DC area.

We will follow a similar process again this year. And we especially need your help because the congregant who has led this effort for the last 16 years is unavailable on the day of the drive and during the ten days immediately preceding collection day, October 18, 2025. Our neighbors and needy people are counting on us. If you have not volunteered already, please do by emailing benevolence@arlingtonfamily.org or calling 703-528-0535.