A Coat to Warm a Girl... and Your Heart

Posted on October 29, 2019

There is a special event that happens every October for the kids at Sioux Falls Children’s Home. One day is set aside to go to Outdoor Gear, a store specializing in all types of winter apparel. CHS kids shop for new winter coats, hats, and mittens.

Owner Julie Garry and her staff serve as personal shoppers, giving the kids a very personal one-on-one shopping experience! Sarah, who was one of the “personal shopper volunteers,” shared this story at the end of the day…

Sarah was assisting 12-year-old Lucy in the selection of a coat. Lucy was going down the rack of all the choices, touching the sleeve of nearly every coat. She asked Sarah, “These coats are all new. Where are the ones without price tags?”

At first, Sarah wasn’t sure what Lucy meant. But she soon learned that Lucy had never owned a new coat. She was used to getting donated clothes and rummage sale finds. She had never worn a piece of clothing “with a price tag.”

Sarah assured Lucy that she could select any coat she wanted. An excited, wide-eyed Lucy looked at every coat to make her selection. Sarah noticed the initial excitement on Lucy’s face turn to a look of concern. She asked Lucy, “Is something wrong?”

Lucy replied, “Getting coats for all of us is sure going to cost Children’s Home a lot of money.”

Sarah assured her that friends of Children’s Home had already provided the funds needed to buy all the coats, and that our friends at Outdoor Gear also give CHS a really good discount on everything purchased.

With all her concerns put to rest, Lucy made her final selection and proudly carried her new coat, hat, and mittens to the register. And Lucy did have one last question… “Can I wear it now?”