The Coats for Kids campaign, a highly successful project that attempts to provide winter coats for children, kicked off in Mineola last week with a ceremony at Randi's Cleaners, one of the participating members of the Neighborhood Cleaners Association (NCA), which sponsors the project.

Randi's Cleaners owner Arthur Epstein has been a catalyst for the campaign in the metropolitan area and has been a factor in causing the program to boom in recent years. With the philosophy that no child should be cold during the winter, participating cleaners in the metropolitan area donated 35,000 coats last year. "The need for warm coats is a very difficult problem, but we are here to do something about it," he said.

Epstein said that the NCA, local businesses and those who have supported the program have set an example of what people can do with a kind heart. Last year, Randi's Cleaners alone processed 6,000 coats.

The program starts on Oct. 15 and continues right after the New Year's holiday. Coats in decent condition can be dropped off at a participating location such as Randi's Cleaners, located at 300 Jericho Turnpike in Mineola. The cleaners will then clean the coats and donate them to those in need. The Village of Mineola will also keep a drop off box in village hall.

Those involved with the Coats for Kids campaign like to think of it as a team effort. The cleaners cooperate with various schools and organizations so that needy people have warm coats. At the opening ceremony, Kiwanis Kids members Michael Fox and Tatian DeCaldas along with Principal Mark Barth of the Hampton Street School are representing the school in the Coats for Kids campaign by collecting coats at the school and bringing them to Randi's. Students from the Corpus Christi School will also be involved in the program.

One of Epstein's goals has been to benefit children of the community. Mineola Youth and Family Services is one organization that benefits from the Coats for Kids campaign. Last year, clients from Mineola who needed coats, sometimes three or four per family, were more than satisfied with the coats they received. Each person who comes to Randi's gets individual attention from Epstein so that they will enjoy the coat they wear. Mineola Youth and Family Services Executive Director Suzanne Skaflestad said Randi's is aware that children like to feel good about the clothes they wear.

In such a difficult time, we are reminded of what makes America great - people helping others.