Nov 12, 2021 2:07 PM

Giving the Gift of Warmth

Posted Nov 12, 2021 2:07 PM
Nae Hillyer, chairperson of the Coat for Kids of Southeast Iowa, poses in front of the Great River Bridge shortly after taking over the charity in 2020. This year, she is partnering with the Hetta Gilbert organization. Photo by William Smith.<br>
Nae Hillyer, chairperson of the Coat for Kids of Southeast Iowa, poses in front of the Great River Bridge shortly after taking over the charity in 2020. This year, she is partnering with the Hetta Gilbert organization. Photo by William Smith.

by William Smith

When Nae Hillyer began collecting winter clothing for financially disadvantaged children last year, she thought she knew tragedy.

Then, she encountered kids who had grown accustomed to not asking for Christmas presents. They would rather have warm winter coats.

For Hillyer, who has a 7-year-old at home and is expecting another child soon, the cause hits close to her heart.

“It’s heartbreaking when children ask for clothing instead of toys,” said Hillyer, Burlington/West Burlington Optimist Club member and chairperson of the charity. The Optimist Club took over the Coats For Kids of Southeast Iowa program last year from Tim Lundgren Farm Bureau Financial Services, which had run the charity for the past seven years.

Lundgren handed the charity off to the non-profit group, which is better suited to run the annual coat drive. Hillyer was already a big fan of Lundgren and the work he had done. Her only fear was the loss of his very public profile. “Everybody knows Tim,” she said.

Since then, Hillyer has worked with only one objective – getting coats to anyone who needs them. The organization has given away 40 coats already this year, but there’s still a tremendous need that has to be filled.

“What we’re really lacking is large coats for boys, and large coats for girls, too,” she said.
 
This year, Hillyer has teamed up with Michelle LeKander from the Hetta Gilbert organization, which is lending storage space for the coats.

“It’s a lot better than using my house. I was running out of room,” she said.

Some of the coats that have been donated to Coats for Kids of Southeast Iowa. Submitted photo.
Some of the coats that have been donated to Coats for Kids of Southeast Iowa. Submitted photo.

Hillyer works with school counselors throughout Southeast Iowa, as well as all the schools in Burlington. Knowing the specific needs – namely, the size of the coats – gives Hillyer a chance to buy the coats herself using donated funds. She also gets donations from other charity organizations such as Burlington Rotary Club.

But as with just about every other product on the market, coats are more expensive than last year. So are boots and other winter clothing, which the charity also collects.

“It’s a challenge when you have a budget, and you want to help as many kids as you can,” she said.

Coats for Kids has a drop box located at the Burlington Police Department that is open 24 hours a day, as well as drop boxes at Carl A. Nelson, Burlington Trailways and Dana’s Total Image.
 
You can also contact the charity through Facebook at Coats for Kids of SE Iowa.