One Warm Coat honored with two awards, national recognition keeps need for coats in the spotlight

[3BL Media]

After nearly two decades of shining a light on the need for warm coats, One Warm Coat finds itself in the spotlight, thanks to two recent prestigious honors.

Last month, One Warm Coat was awarded 2^nd Prize honors in a national contest sponsored byBreakthrough Non-profit Branding  authors Carol Cone and Jocelyn Daws. USA Today donated $100,000 worth of advertising as the grand prize.  During the first judging phase, a panel of experts placed One Warm Coat as one of ten semi-finalists; public voting determined the Grand Prize Winner.  The organization drew the judges’ attention for its “impressive growth on a microscopic budget.” Ms. Cone, well known as an expert at creating partnerships that advance solutions for social issues, expressed that she was touched by both One Warm Coat’s work and its focus.

“We feel like our message that no one should go cold in the winter is really getting out there.” said One Warm Coat President Sherri Lewis Wood. “The recognition from both experts in the field and the general public made this a very special honor.”

The organization’s second honor came in the form of an honorable mention in TechSoup’s recent Digital Storytelling Event  Techsoup is a nonprofit that provides technology and products to help other nonprofits to fulfill their missions. Their recent storytelling event invited organizations from across the globe to craft short digitally-produced stories and post them to the internet for public judging.

OWC’s “Albert’s Story,” was honored as the highest rated among all photo set entries. The five-photo story tells of a Navajo teen and his mother, who cannot afford to buy winter coats for the family’s growing children. It also spotlights donations from customers of Burlington Coat Factory stores that enabled One Warm Coat to ship 4,500 new coats to Native America children across the inter-mountain W.

Says Wood, “TechSoup’s recognition is a big help for our work. It comes at a time when the need for warm coats is greater than ever. Stories like Albert’s are, unfortunately, not that rare – especially in the poorer and more rural parts of the country. The more people hear about them, the more awareness is raised about this urgent need.”

About One Warm Coat: One Warm Coat® is a national nonprofit organization that provides tools and resources to help volunteers collect clean, reusable coats for donation to individuals. Our dream is that One Warm Coat® becomes a part of the American lifestyle, that when a coat is no longer needed, people will think of One Warm Coat® and donate it. They will make their donations knowing their gifts will go directly to a child, women or man in need. Please visit onewarmcoat.org for more information.

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