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WTBQ's 'Share the Warmth' coat drive for needy families huge success

| 01 Nov 2018 | 01:04
    Photo by Roger Gavan The WTBQ newsroom was filled with a record number of coats from the "Share the Warmth" annual coat drive. Pictured from left: WTBQ Station owner Frank Truatt, HONOR Executive Director Chris Molinelli, Station Manager Taylor Sterling, Town of Monroe Supervisor Tony Cordone (rear left), co-owner of Greenwood Lake Bagels Christine Moley, Mike Conway of CuraLeaf (rear right), Liz Schmidt of HONOR, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus and Assemblyman Karl Brabenec.
    Photo by Roger Gavan The WTBQ newsroom was filled with a record number of coats from the "Share the Warmth" annual coat drive. Pictured from left: WTBQ Station owner Frank Truatt, HONOR Executive Director Chris Molinelli, Station Manager Taylor Sterling, Town of Monroe Supervisor Tony Cordone (rear left), co-owner of Greenwood Lake Bagels Christine Moley, Mike Conway of CuraLeaf (rear right), Liz Schmidt of HONOR, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus and Assemblyman Karl Brabenec.

WARWICK — It's a huge success.
Last month, Orange County community radio WTBQ (1110 AM/93.5 FM) launched "Share the Warmth," an Orange County coat and clothes drive from Sept. 24 to Oct. 29 to benefit the non-profit organization, HONOR, an acronym for Helping Others Needing Our Resources.
The annual program was originally launched by WTBQ Station owner Frank Truatt and Station Manager Taylor Sterling when Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus gave them the idea after he traveled upstate and witnessed children without coats.
For the past four weeks, WTBQ Radio, CuraLeaf, Community Foundation, Dawson Motors, The Warwick Valley Dispatch and Greenwood Lake Bagels were all drop off locations for donations of gently used or new coats, gloves, hats, sweaters, scarves and clothes for any age and any gender.
At the end of the drive, a record amount of donated clothing items filled the WTBQ News Room.
It took hours for as many as eight people with vans and trucks to load them up.
The destination was HONOR, led by Chris Molinelli, who is the executive director of the four homeless shelters in Orange County.
HONOR provides individualized and integrated services to people who may be in need of transitional housing, or requiring crisis intervention.
"Thank you all," said Sterling, "for your amazing generosity and we hope you all realize that you are keeping so many children and adults warm and comfy this winter and beyond. It was such a joy to be able to give back to this extent. This is an amazing county."