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How this ad agency used “lonely coats” to help a nonprofit clothe kids in need

That's a lot of coats! Garfield Group with Feel the Warmth ED Janet Shepps January 13, 2016 Category: Results
It’s a warm, fuzzy, feel-good story — but it’s also an example of how nonprofits and for-profits can team up to enact social change.

Feel the Warmth is a small nonprofit operated out of Jeffersonville, Pa. (Seriously, it’s small — there are three employees.) It collects gently used and new coats and other winter items for needy children in the area during the holiday season as well as school supplies during the school year.

The eight-year-old organization strives to both collect and donate locally, something that resonates with those donating because they’re helping their direct community, said Janet Shepps, Feel the Warmth’s executive director. Items are distributed in Montgomery County and Chester County, but the staff had been looking to expand to Bucks County.

Garfield Group, on the other hand, is a 20-person-strong marketing and advertising agency based in Newtown, Pa., that’s been around for 25 years. Most of Garfield’s clients are in tech, life sciences or the nonprofit world, but every holiday season, it takes on one mission-minded client pro bono.

“We want to put our talents to good use, so we always try to find a charity we can help out with our marketing talents,” said Byron Lomas, vice president of creative for Garfield Group. “At the same time, it gives us a ‘feel-good’ [story].”

Garfield Group found Feel the Warmth through some online searching and decided that it was the perfect candidate for its pro bono work.

The resulting campaign was an interactive tale called “The Lonely Coats.” Readers click through a storybook that tells how three old — but wearable — coats came to be unwanted by their owners, then how they return to use, thanks to being donated to Feel the Warmth. The blue coat, for instance, had a small tear but longed to return to the soccer pitch to cheer for its favorite team. 

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The Lonely Coats themselves.

The Lonely Coats themselves. (Courtesy photo)

The campaign was shared with Garfield’s clients via a mass email list and social media. Garfield also included items related to the story in its end-of-year thank-you gifts to clients. 

The response was strong — many clients reached back out not only to donate, but to host their own coat drives. Garfield hosted a drive in its office, too. 

In just a few weeks, with the help of five client partners, Garfield collected over 100 coats and over 65 other winter items such as hats, scarves and gloves, as well as monetary donations totaling $700.

It’s the biggest drive Feel the Warmth has ever had, according to Shepps. But the partnership has been mutually beneficial.  

“It helps a lot with our culture,” Lomas said. “It’s really fun and a good chance for us to get [to work] together as a company. And we’re actually out there helping someone.”

While the direct benefit of supplying winter clothing for children in need is obvious, “the return on this is more than the coats for us,” Shepps said. Garfield’s social media blasts helped get the group more exposure in Bucks County, the area to which Feel the Warmth had been looking to expand. Its social media platforms also increased in engagement and followers during the time of the campaign.

Perhaps most importantly, Shepps said people previously unfamiliar with the group have reached out to host clothing drives.

“That alone is a huge impact for us,” she said.

It means there will be a few fewer lonely coats in the region.

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