GREENFIELD — As winter draws near, the Warm the Children fundraising drive is once again preparing to supply coats and clothing to children in need in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region.

Warm the Children was started by the Greenfield Recorder in 1993 and the annual winter donation drive, which runs through the end of December, provided new coats and clothes last year to about 900 children, raising $70,290 to cover expenses.

“I enjoy being part of Warm the Children,” said Recorder Business Manager Patti Wasilewski, who coordinates the donation drive in partnership with Community Action Pioneer Valley. “It takes care of the needs of a lot of area children. We greatly appreciate all of the support from the community and we couldn’t do it without the community’s support.”

All newspaper advertisements, and many fundraising costs, are donated by the Recorder and donations to Warm the Children, which are tax-deductible, are placed in an account overseen by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. Warm the Children recipients are suggested by various social service agencies and community organizations.

The Recorder has a partnership with Target to provide gift cards to beneficiaries. The Recorder previously worked with Wilson’s Department Store to order the clothes until it closed in January 2020. These gift cards are provided to Community Action for distribution, and can be used in store or online to buy clothing for each qualifying child, 12 years old or younger.

The success of Warm the Children is also due in large part to community volunteers who hold their own fundraisers, while civic groups and businesses also contribute with donations and by organizing fundraising efforts. Traditionally, the Recorder shares stories of donors and recipients during the fundraising campaign with the goal of inspiring others to donate.

One of the longest running donors has been the Greenfield Tae Kwon Do Center, which holds a yearly “Break-athon,” in which students break boards to raise money. The center started hosting the event for Warm the Children in 2002, and last year raised $6,091 for the drive. The center eclipsed the $100,000 mark in donations in 2021.

As it marked two decades of giving, Greenfield Tae Kwon Do Center owner and instructor David Johnson explained how the center got involved in the effort during last year’s drive.

“We got thinking about how we’re part of the community and usually in demonstrations and things like that, we break (boards) just to demonstrate technique and what you’re capable of doing,” Johnson said. “And I was hearing more about Warm the Children and suddenly it just made sense. We could take something that we do as part of our training and we could do it to contribute to the community. And that’s about all it took.”

Other fundraising drives to benefit Warm the Children last year included a spaghetti dinner sponsored by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the 2023 Kiwanis Warm the Children Golf Tournament, donations by a group of Montague artists, and dozens of crocheted baby hats donated to the charity by Erving resident Karen Harrington.

The Recorder seeks stories about those who have a tradition of giving to Warm the Children and also is interested in letting readers know about fundraisers dedicated to the drive.

Email contact information to Managing Editor Shelby Brock at sbrock@recorder.com and a reporter will be assigned to feature fundraising activity in stories the newspaper does during the Warm the Children campaign.

Anyone who would like to send tax-deductible donations may address them to the Greenfield Recorder, Warm the Children Fund, P.O. Box 1367, 14 Hope St., Greenfield, MA 01301.