OGDEN — Employees from the Bank of Utah hope the delivery they made to the Lantern House on Tuesday will warm both the bodies and souls of those in need.
The delivery included three truck loads of coats, hats, gloves, blankets and other outerwear.
Jennifer Cantor, executive director of Lantern House, formerly known as St. Anne’s Center, said needs are up this year, particularly among families.
“We have a lot of homeless folks this year and about three dozen homeless families, so this is very much appreciated,” she said.
Four branches of the Bank of Utah participated in the Warm Bodies, Warm Souls coat drive, said Senior Vice President Scott Parkinson. This is the second year the financial institution has hosted the event.
“Last year we collected coats and outerwear for Weber and Salt Lake County,” he said. “This year we started collecting donations the day after Thanksgiving and will be distributing them to several different areas throughout the week.”
Those areas include the Lantern House, Bountiful Food Pantry, the Tremonton Community Pantry, Cache Food Pantry, New Hope Crisis Center in Brigham City and facilities in Salt Lake City, Provo and
St. George.
“We are so pleased with the response to our warm clothing drive and are very grateful to the community for supporting us in this effort,” Parkinson said. “Our partnering charities play such an important role in our bank communities, providing services for families in need.”
Parkinson said bank employees donated generously, but many customers and other members of the community also dropped off items for the drive.
“We had a lady go through the drive-up window, and when she found out we were collecting donations, she just wrote out a $50 check,” he said.
Cantor said not only will she pass the items out among the folks at the shelter, but if anyone needs warm clothing, they are welcome to go down during business hours and pick up whatever they need.
“We don’t want anyone to go without something warm to wear,” she said.
The shelter is at 137 W. Binford. Business hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
In addition, Cantor said, the shelter is providing Christmas to three dozen homeless families and is seeking toys for kids up to 17 years old.
Among those children are 10 teenagers, she said.
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