Philadelphia-area auto dealers help drive away the cold for thousands of school kids with donated winter coats

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Thousands of Philadelphia-area school children were a little warmer on Tuesday after receiving a free winter coat. “Driving Away the Cold” is an annual tradition, made possible for 17 years by the Auto Dealers Caring for Kids Foundation.

You could call it organized chaos as the children chose their new coats out of cardboard boxes at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

“I’m trying to find me a good coat to wear for the winter, so I won’t have to be cold outside and shivering,” said sixth-grader Christopher Fickling from Francis Scott Key Elementary School.

Christopher was among the students getting first pick, and he was trying to find one that was just right.

Asked if he was looking for a particular color or style, he said, “Red, blue.”

He went with a puffy blue-over-black hooded style. It’s just one of the thousands of free coats distributed since the program began, says Jeff Glanzmann, the foundation’s vice president.

“We’ve been able to give away 675,000 coats to kids throughout the Philadelphia area who are in need,” he said.

Glanzmann says the giveaway is funded mostly by the association’s 180 area dealers.

“They decide how many coats they want to give away, how much they want to put towards the program.”

Kevin Mazzucola, executive director of the foundation, says they will provide 8,000 coats to children in the School District of Philadelphia this year.

“It’s a simple way to help the families that are struggling and the kids to be warm in the winter,” he said.

“A simple coat can do a lot of great things for their self-esteem. It’s brand new. It’s warm. It’s theirs.”