The Rankin brothers are giving coats to those in need during the cold, winter season through donations by their Coats of Friendship organization.

Senior Tristan Rankin, the president of Coats of Friendship, and his brother freshman Emerson Rankin, the vice president of the organization, are helping to keep those in need warm by collecting donations of hats, coats and gloves then giving them out at their events.

“Standard donations we accept [are] second hand coats, hats, gloves, scarves and really any other winter accessory,” Tristan Rankin said.

The organization affects a great deal of people, giving them warmth and bringing the community together.

“Last year, we gave out and collected a little bit more but gave out over 10,000 coats,” Tristan Rankin said.

Senior Charlotte Rhoads, who has been a huge player in the increasingly growing non-profit, is collecting coats to hand out at the events.

Rhoads has helped the organization by driving coats to hand out areas and picking up donations that people dropped off. She believes that Coats of Friendship is helping people everyday and that this organization is for a great cause.

“It helps people that need it,” Rhoads said. “Everyone should be able to be warm and to be comfortable.”

This year, the non-profit is watching as the cold season nears to see how the economy shifts and to see how many coats they may need to give. People have to decide whether or not to pay for heating or to buy coats. That’s where Coats of Friendship comes in.

Coats of Friendship makes it so people do not have to choose; the foundation gives coats to all who need them to make it through the winter.

Tracee Rankin is a key player in the organization; she is the one that does all the legal documents and finances for the non-profit. This is a very important role to have since the Rankin brothers can not sign these documents because they are not legal adults.

As the organization continues to grow and gain more coats, Tracee Rankin explains that the foundation hopes to increase the number of coats they give out this year.

“This year we’re aiming for probably 12,000, “ Tracee Rankin said.

She explains that this is a big goal for the charity, and it is nearly 2,000 more coats than the previous year’s donation.

Tracee Rankin shared a story about a hurricane, coats and Puerto Rico, showing the impact that Coats of Friendship has on others.

“I think one of the most beautiful experiences that we ever had was that there was this woman who[had been displaced by] a hurricane in Puerto Rico several years ago,” Tracee Rankin said “…we had a lot of families who had come here from Puerto Rico….so somebody had contacted us about dropping off coats. And so we gave coats to different people and different families. And then the next year, we had a message on Facebook, and it said to meet us at Giant in York. And so we went up there, and there was this woman who had multiple black bags, like huge, huge industrialized sized bags. And she was standing there, and we said, hi, you know, and we said, oh, you have a donation. She said, last year you helped my entire family. Giving a coat, you never know what the ripples will be.”

Coats of Friendship continues to grow and give out more and more coats every year. As part of the Susquehannock family, you can help out by donating a coat to the charity. You can find them on their website, Facebook or via Give Local York. Coats of Friendship hopes to continue handing out coats for years to come and hopefully keep every person in York, PA warm and comfortable.