Barnstable Police Team Up To Support Veterans As Winter Arrives

BARNSTABLE, MA — Barnstable Police on Tuesday joined law enforcement officers from across the commonwealth to collect and distribute coats and cold weather supplies for veterans in need.

The Coats4Vets Buckets program is put on by the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation. On Tuesday, officers from police departments in the commonwealth's 351 cities and towns gathered at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough to pick up buckets containing a winter coat, cold weather gear, snacks, a mask and hand sanitizer.

Barnstable police collected 10 buckets, which they'll bring back to benefit veterans in the community. The distribution method of the buckets is meant to encourage local authorities to engage and connect with homeless veterans in their communities.

The Massachusetts Military Support Foundation has distributed 34,500 coats to veterans since 2016. The sponsors and donors for this year's Coats4Vets Buckets include the Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, New England Patriots Foundation, Ocean State Job Lot and Home Depot.

Patriots Community Relations Director Donna Spigarolo said the annual distribution is always important, but this year, it matters more than ever.

"In these really trying times for everybody, it's just great to work together," she said.

About Massachusetts Military Support Foundation:

The Massachusetts Military Support Foundation is an organization dedicated to providing programs, services and goods that help satisfy critical needs and enhance the well-being and quality of life for veterans, active-duty Military and their families in Massachusetts. Each of their programs is designed to have maximum impact on the many issues veterans and active-duty Military face.

The MMSF also run three empowerment centers throughout Massachusetts. Each of these empowerment centers provide food, personal hygiene products and other life essentials for families These centers allow servicemen and their families to connect to various services such as health care, mental health and substance abuse counseling, and job training among others. Since they opened these empowerment centers have served over 383,000 veterans, active-duty military personnel, and their families who live in Massachusetts.

Patch editor Alex Newman contributed to this report