Coats for Christmas of Hancock Country originated from the vision of local dry cleaning owner, Paul Kramer. Paul assumed ownership of City Laundry and Dry Cleaning in 1987. In the fall of that year, Paul developed and launched a service project that had many wondering if he knew what he was doing. Paul recognized that many community members did not have a warm coat for harsh winters that were cust
omary in Northwest Ohio. He conceived the idea of an organized collection of gently used coats for those in need,donating his company’s services to clean and make any needed repairs on those coats and then distribute the freshly cleaned coats to those in need. The morning of the first distribution, it was 4 degrees above zero and the wind was brisk. When Paul arrived to open the doors, he found a long line of people already waiting---many in the line were dressed only in spring jackets. Anyone who was skeptical of Paul’s vision soon discovered what a difference this effort made to the community. Paul continued to organize the event from 1987 to 1998 only missing one year due to a devastating fire at his facility. In 1997, Hancock Leadership and the Volunteer Center Youth Action Council, now called ECLIPSe, added their support. The next year, the Hancock Leadership Alumni Association assumed coordination responsibilities of the event with continued and on-going support from Paul Kramer and City Dry Cleaning. Paul is still actively involved in the campaign providing his business services to clean all of the coats that are donated as well as hosting this web site and social media marketing to further broaden the message of need in our community. ECLIPSe continues to play a very important supporting role in service project with leadership responsibilities for collecting new hats and mittens. The youth of the ECLIPSe program have a goal of collecting one new hat and a pair of children’s mittens for every coat distributed. Coats for Christmas continues to be a signature service project for Hancock Leadership Alumni Association, ECLIPSe and the community.
