By WJBC Staff

NORMAL – The Normal Rotary Club has kicked off its annual Coats for Kids drive, its annual effort to provide winter wear for children in need in the Unit 5 school district and beyond.

Last year, the club bought 1,102 new coats and other winter wear. The need continues every year, according to Connie Gentry, who chairs the club’s annual campaign. Most of the winter wear goes to students in Unit 5 who do not have adequate coats, gloves and hats for cold winter weather.

Gentry and other members of Normal Rotary’s Coats for Kids committee scour local stores to find bargains for coats and other winter wear. Some businesses donate gift cards to the effort, and others offer extra discounts because of Normal Rotary Club’s volume of purchases. The average cost of coats purchased through Coats for Kids last year was about $12.78, Gentry said.

To make a tax-deductible donation to Coats for Kids, send a check made out to Normal Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 333, Normal, Ill., 61761.