The local branches have had a much-needed boost for their winter appeals, receiving around 200 coats from The Salvation Army’s winter coat appeal in Sydney. 

Vinnies Bathurst diocese operations manager Billie Kirkland said the warm coats would be welcomed by those in the community who had fallen on hard times. 

“These coats are a god-send. This time of year it is very difficult to get winter clothing,” she said. 

Ms Kirkland said she had recently been contacted by The Salvation Army’s community fundraising director Andrew Hill.

“He contacted us to see if we were hard up for winter clothes, which we were, and wanted to know if we would like to be involved in the winter coat drive,” she said.

“They ended up collecting 1000 coats in Sydney and have shared 200 coats with us.”

Ms Kirkland said the coats would be distributed across the Bathurst diocese, and smaller centres which received fewer donations would be looked after.

She said it was particularly hard to find warm men’s clothing during the winter months. 

“Men tend to hold on to their clothes. Women tend to keep up with the fashion a bit more, whereas men are happy to hold on to things they may not even use anymore,” she said.

Ms Kirkland said the Bathurst community was very generous and was not at fault for the lack of donations during the local winter appeal. 

“It is no one’s fault that the last two winter appeals haven’t got as much as usual, it just goes to show the economic climate we are in,” she said. 

“Living costs keep going up and clothes are not being turned over like they used to.”

Ms Kirkland said it was great that Mr Hill had organised donations for the region and said they would go a long way to helping people in the community. 

Apart from providing affordable warm clothing, she said it would help the stores raise more money to assist clients with the cost of living during the colder months.

“With the cost of amenities going up, there is a greater need for charities to fill the gap where government and personal finances cannot,” she said.

“There are a lot of people doing it tough. We know of elderly people who sit in the cold shivering because they cannot afford to pay for heating.”

Ms Kirkland said both The Salvation Army and Vinnies could always use more donations and encouraged people to have a browse through the stores and “you might be surprised by what you find”.