Warner Robins Fire Department hosting winter clothing drive for new shelter

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WARNER ROBINS — With the Haven Hope House nearing completion and opening this fall, local firefighters are hoping to give back and inviting the community to take part.

Starting Oct. 6, The Warner Robins Fire Department is hosting a Winter Warmth clothing drive in support of the homeless shelter. Until Dec. 12, the department will be taking donations of new and gently used coats, gloves and blankets, as well as new hats, scarves, socks and undergarments.

With winter coming up, the drive’s organizers wanted to find a way to help during frigid temperatures.

“We were trying to find out some way we could help our community, and we came to the idea of doing donations for our homeless, because it’s about to get cold again. So we wanted to [give] blankets, clothes, jackets, basically anything that will keep them warm during the winter,” fire and life safety educator Emily Anderson said.

“We plan on donating clothes, blankets, the whole nine yards to the Haven Hope House as soon as it opens; we plan on gathering as many clothes as possible,” firefighter Chris Reid added.

Reid’s initial idea when prompted for community outreach ideas was a turkey drive for Thanksgiving, according to Anderson, who had the inspiration for something more long lasting.

“Especially during winter, you just want to be able to help them, because it’s so cold,” Anderson said. “So we came up with the idea of the winter warmth drive … just so we can do something to help them stay warm.”

Cheif Albert Wright was on board, and once he told Mayor LaRhonda Patrick, she was also in support.

“It’s nice that they have the same motivation as we did,” Anderson said.

Reid added the fire department is also on board.

“A few of us had been going around to the stations to do a few duties [Tuesday,] and already, a few firefighters are expressing to us that they’ve already brought clothes into some of our drop off locations,” Reid said.

Reid said this is just the beginning of outreach for the department, one of several projects planned with the department’s community engagement committee. Before COVID-19, the department was heavily involved with Toys For Tots, so it feels nice to the department to help again and to rally behind a shared goal, he mentioned.

“As firefighters, it’s good to always be able to respond to the community, and that’s in different ways, not just for emergencies. I think this will help a whole lot more, especially when it comes to camaraderie for our firefighters, to stay in tune with what we pledge to do within our community,” Reid said.

And the drive is something Anderson hopes to do yearly with a good turnout. She encourages the public to donate what they can and share the word with others.
“We want to make sure we could continue keeping it up … People who are homeless are are part of our city and our community, and we want to make sure they’re very well taken care of,” Anderson said.

Drop off locations are at all Warner Robins fire stations from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.: