Buy Nothing Coat Exchange Drive Scheduled For Nov. 24

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Buy Nothing Coat Exchange is back this year to help ensure everyone who needs a coat this winter has one.

Scheduled for the day after 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 24, on the south lawn of the Rhode Island State House in Providence, this year’s Coat Exchange is open to all those who’d either like to donate an item or those in need of winter gear.

In case of rain, the coat exchange will be held at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church at 15 Hayes St. in Providence. Masks are encouraged if the event is relocated indoors.

Organizers said the mission of the exchange is to "make sure everyone who needs a coat this winter has one." All items are free — no questions asked — including coats, hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, and more.

Those interested in donating can gather their gently-used winter gear and drop off whatever they can spare at one of the Coat Exchange’s collection sites throughout Rhode Island and Attleboro, Massachusetts. A full list of sites is available here.

Community members can also host their own collection site at either their home or workplace by placing a collection bin or box at the location of their choice and contacting the Coat Exchange organizers via email at ricoatdrive@gmail.com or the contact form at ricoatexchange.org to arrange for a pickup time once all donations are received. As a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Coat Exchange can provide the paperwork to support tax-deductible donations as needed.

Launched more than 20 years ago by Rhode Island activist Greg Gerritt, the Coat Exchange is an extension of Buy Nothing Day, an international day of protest against consumerism that runs concurrent with Black Friday, the United States’ busiest shopping day of the year. The idea is to treat “Buy Nothing Day” as an extension of Thanksgiving, encouraging folks to give rather than spend, and repurpose rather than throw away.

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