Message from Marco Van Embden, founder of Coats for Cape Town:
Since 2014, when I launched Coats for Cape Town in honour of my 60th birthday, we have collected and distributed coats each year except for the covid 2020 year. I have decided to donate coats to this cause in honor of friends’ birthdays and various celebrations. People ask me where I obtain the coats we have given away over the years, more than 3,000 coats. In the beginning, I went out of my way to collect secondhand coats from friends and my network. It soon dawned on me that this would not generate sufficient coats.
We have been purchasing from Coat King Wholesalers based in Port Elizabeth which imports in bulk from Europe, both ladies and gents’ coats. The quality of the imported coats is great. I must admit I kept one cashmere coat and donated the money to buy 2 more
Please feel free to donate a coat or funds to purchase second-hand coats. The average price is R75 per coat.
In closing, I will add that we receive such joy in seeing the faces of the recipients when they try on their coats for the first time… an unintended reward.
Please contact me by email if you wish to find out more. Thank you in advance for your support.
Marco: info@coatsforcapetown.co.za
2023 DONATION
Coats for Cape Town was able to distribute over 250 coats to people in need through Straatwerk: a non-profit Christian upliftment organisation.
As the focus at Straatwerk is on rehabilitation programs that encourage homeless people to move off the street, coats and blankets were added to the cash reward that participants receive when they complete shifts in the system.
These projects help desperate and destitute individuals to earn cash in hand, by means of honest and hard work, as an alternative to aggressive begging, theft, or other criminal activities.