Jefferson County Fire & EMS collects over 1,500 clothing items during first annual Holiday Coat Drive

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Jefferson County Fire & EMS held its first annual coat drive Nov. 14-Dec. 8 and reported receiving over 1,500 articles of clothing, including, hats, gloves, boots, coats, etc.

The agency disbursed them to organizations throughout Jefferson County, such as the Madras Homeless Services Center, run by the Jefferson County Faith-based Network, the Pregnancy Resource Center of Central Oregon, Family Access Network – Madras and Operation Rudolph.

"We would like to give a big thank you to our community for their gracious donations to support for those in need in our community," Thursday's news release stated. " We are excited to continue this coat drive for years to come, as it has brought joy to our entire department. We could not have done it without the overwhelming support from the community. Again, big thank you to our community!"