A ribbon cutting ceremony was held to formally dedicate a new location of a Clothes For Joes Donation Box in New Haven on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at New Haven City Hall (City Council Chambers).
After the opening ceremony, the donation box, and the first of its kind in New Haven, was dedicated at New Haven City Hall allowing another opportunity for the public to donate to military veterans who are in need of essential items. Clothes For Joes is a growing organization that is dedicated to helping veterans through donations made by individuals such as yourself and we are happy to accept any and all donations.
Matt Cobb co-founded the Clothes For Joes Organization in 2015 when a military veteran approached him about a coat drive. “Within a week, we receive about a hundred coats, got them to the Shepherds House and on that we were inspired to create an organization.” Cobb added, “We are excited to partner with the City of New Haven as we grow our charitable mission to serve those who have served our country.”
Mayor McMichael said, “I’m looking forward to having a new drop off location right here at New Haven City Hall as a way to give back to our veterans.” McMichael also said, “Thanks to Clothes For Joes, those men and women that served our country, and who may have nothing, can now obtain basic necessities and leave with warm clothes. We encourage our citizens to donate to those who have served our country.”
Jim Garigen, Founder of Invisible Vets said, “This is a great day in New Haven. There are people who want to help out veterans but may not know how or where to give. This is the perfect opportunity for residents to help out a veteran.” Garigen added, “Right now Invisible Vets is providing what we call our dignity bag to the folks on the streets. The veterans who are out there who are choosing to stay on the streets, they’ve got the basic necessities of life. They’ve got blankets, and gloves and hands and toe warmers. High protein products, bottled water, personal hygiene products,” he said. “Basically, this donation box will accept donations you think could help someone on the streets or veterans in need.”
Mayor McMichael said, “It is my honor to dedicate this box in our city and I encourage all of our citizens to get involved. Donations can be dropped off at our new Clothes For Joes box 24 hours a day, giving our veterans more than just clothes.” McMichael concluded, “It gives them a sense of hope and stability knowing that their community cares for them enough by giving back, and I’m proud to be the Mayor a community that has the respect of the veterans who served our country to be able to offer this to our veterans. This is the first of many veterans initiatives that we will be rolling out throughout this next year.”
For more information, please contact New Haven Veterans Coordinator Steve Kennedy at 438-0526.
