More coats needed for Operation Bundle Up

Pleasant autumn weather may have settled over Johnson County this week, but winter is coming.

Officials with the United Way of Johnson County want to ensure that families in need are ready for the cold. And they need the community’s help.

As the United Way gears up for the annual Operation Bundle Up event, organizers say they are below their target goal for coats collected so far. With just a few weeks until the coat distribution in mid-November, they still need between 400 and 500 coats to adequately serve the needy.

They are asking for more donations of gently used coats of all varieties, as well as other winter gear.

“When it’s 20 degrees outside, and 10 degrees below zero with wind chill, those kids need a coat,” said Nancy Lohr Plake, executive director of the United Way of Johnson County. “We need anywhere from infant sizes to adults, so any of those sizes that we can get would be great. And we need new hats, gloves, scarves and mittens.”

Operation Bundle Up is an annual helping program that gets coats and other winter gear to needy families throughout the county. Hundreds of coats are distributed annually as part of the program.

Last year, the agency served about 410 kids, and helped 426 in 2020. In past years, nearly 1,000 coats have been given out to local children and families who need them.

The United Way is anticipating similar numbers this year, particularly with many families facing difficult economic conditions, Plake said.

“It’s important because with the inflation we have, to go and outfit your children with coats and hats and gloves and mittens, that’s expensive. This helps ease those families to also be able to pay those needs — utility bills, mortgages, rent, gas to get to work — that they need every day for their families’ to operate,” she said.

Each November, the United Way gathers the community together to “shop” for various coats — although the distribution moved to a drive-through model in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Families, after registering for the event, come through and pick out the styles and sizes that best suit their children.

To meet the need, coats are collected from throughout the county.

“History tells us we need about 1,200 in, because you have to be sure you have enough variety so you have enough different sizes,” Plake said. “And we’d love, if we can, for each kid to get two coats each.”

Currently, the United Way has brought in between 700 and 800 coats, Plake said.

People hoping to support the effort can donate gently used coats — for both kids and adults, as teens usually wear adult sizes, Plake said. Organizers want to have a variety of sizes, styles and colors to give participants a chance to choose the right one for them.

The community can bring items to the United Way of Johnson County office in Franklin, and all county Horizon Bank locations have collection boxes where people can drop off items, Plake said.

“They have branches all over the county, so it’s really convenient,” she said.

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AT A GLANCE

Operation Bundle Up

What: An annual helping program that gets coats and other winter gear to needy families throughout the county.

When: Distribution is held in mid-November

Who: United Way of Johnson County

How to help: Organizers are still in need of gently used coats for both kids and adult sizes, as well as new hats, gloves, scarves and mittens. People can drop off items at any county Horizon Bank location:

• 507 Three Notch Lane, Bargersville
• 100 W. Main Cross St., Edinburgh
• 420 N. Morton St., Franklin
• 151 Marlin Dr., Greenwood
• 942 U.S. 31, Greenwood

Items can also be dropped at the United Way of Johnson County, 594 Ironwood Dr., Franklin or the Daily Journal, 30 S. Water St., Franklin.

Information: uwjc.org/operation-bundle-warming-johnson-county