As the winter season approaches, WRAL-TV is mobilizing to help provide coats to Salvation Army families in need.

From Nov. 18 through Dec. 31, WRAL and its community sponsors, Jiffy Lube and Capital Bank, invite the public to donate new or gently used coats at any of their participating locations in Apex, Cary, Chapel Hill, Clayton, Durham, Fayetteville, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Goldsboro, Morrisville, Oxford, Pittsboro, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Sanford, Siler City, Spring Lake, Wilson and Wake Forest.

In addition to clean coats, WRAL is asking the public to donate other winter clothing items, including gently used gloves and hats and new underwear, T-shirts and socks to completely outfit a child for the winter months. Any size coat will be accepted; however, larger sizes for teens and adults are in particular demand.

On Friday, Dec. 8, from 6am – 8pm, WRAL will broadcast a daylong “Coats For The Children Telethon” including two half-hour specials at 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Phone lines will remain open until 8 p.m. for pledges. You may also donate to Coats for the Children online now through Dec. 31.

Since 1989, WRAL has collected more than 93,000 coats and raised $864,000 to provide winter clothing for Salvation Army families.

WRAL thanks its community sponsors at Jiffy Lube and Capital Bank for their support of this project.

Thanks to WRAL-TV for this capcom story.