Times Observer photo by Stacey Gross The Clarendon United Methodist Church coat closet will soon be open.

For the seventh year, Clarendon’s Trinity United Methodist Church will offer coats to Sheffield attendance area youth.

The coat ministry of Trinity United Methodist Church has been going strong since 2011, and is open to all youth who live in the Sheffield school attendance area. Families can self-refer for the program if they feel a need for winter outerwear for their children. The goal is to keep families from having to choose between other necessities and appropriate winter clothes for their kids.

“This ministry brings us many blessings, one of which is the smiles on the childrens’ faces when they try on their new coat,” said Coat Closet Committee Member Jim Houghtling. Donations from parishioners and community members toward the coat ministry create a fund for women in the church who then go shopping for winter coats. “They’re good stewards,” said Houghtling of the ladies who do the shopping. “They really go out and make sure they’re getting the most they can – the best coats for the best prices.” All of the coats received from the coat ministry are new and unworn, Houghtling stressed. They’re also somewhat targeted to meet each year’s needs.

Families can call to refer a child for the program and give the size the child would need. The coats on hand are then matched to referred children, said Houghtling, and if a different coat in a different size is needed once all available items have been matched the ministry then goes out for a coat to meet the need.

There are also several hats, scarves, and mittens available through the coat closet program, Houghtling said, many of which are hand-knitted by parishioners.

Anyone looking for more information can call the church office at (814) 723-5435. Coats will be distributed from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20 in the Trinity United Methodist Church fellowship hall.