Calling London: winter coats wanted

In 2011, Frances Manthos started the winter coat collection charity Calling London and now distributes thousands of used coats a year to people who really need them. As she says: “A luxury for some is a necessity for others”.

Her work begins in September, making sure she has enough cardboard collecting boxes, usually 50, and ordering more, requesting places to put them in Chestertons Estate Agents, and organising a loyal team of volunteers, some of whom have been helping since the charity started. Then, by October you and me can pop our warm but no longer wanted coats in one of the donation boxes, either at Chestertons on Ledbury Road or the one near Kensington Town Hall. The real work begins for Frances and her team in December, when they remove any bits and bobs from pockets, clean the coats, sort them into womens, mens and childrens, smart or casual and then travel around London distributing them.

Luckily the pandemic didn’t affect collecting and distributing coats last winter. And because Chestertons is open plan they could open doors and not worry too much about safety. Last year, the charities 10th Anniversary, they had a boom year with 7,000 coats collected.

Frances points out one of the benefits of the charity is that there is never any money involved. “It is run from home and we don’t fund raise. It’s something people own that they don’t need. People are glad to hand on coats that are cluttering cupboards, many are children’s coats that no longer fit, or coats that have been updated.” Frances explains everyone donating is happy to help: “They see people without proper warm clothes on the street, it is such a basic need.”

Though some people change coats more often than others. “We are always desperate for mens coats, I think they replace them less often,” says Frances. Some of the smarter style coats are given to the groups helping people to interview well to gain good jobs, like Dress for Success and Smartworks. The homeless really need warm coats, and there are different priorities, there is an especially high need in North Kensington, where coats are sometimes distributed via Food Banks, which have expanded in last few years, mainly due to Covid-19 and job losses.

“I make sure they are being handed out to people who need them, refugee groups and women’s refuges and mother and baby charities make up some of the 30 charitable groups we distribute to, and as long as it’s a group that can hand out the coats I don’t mind, most of the charities know me as we have been year after year,” assures Frances.

Your coat may go to an elderly person, or a family with young children. “I learned there is something for everyone,” says Frances, “Rough sleepers prefer waterproof and lightweight with a warm lining. We have a particular need for size 18 plus, as larger sizes are often in demand. Less useful are the very thin ones, like jean jackets. Nothing goes to waste, but the warmer the better.”