Providence Journal photos / Glenn Osmundson
Volunteer Michele St. Pierre of Woonsocket, left, and Edwin Munoz of Providence, right, help Katelyn Maynard of Providence try on a coat at the 16th Annual Buy Nothing Day Winter Coat Exchange on the State House grounds Friday.
By Maria Armental
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- It started as a mound of colors and fabrics.
Volunteers quickly fell into step like elves in Santa's workshop, trying to don an air of organization as more coats trickled in, by the bagful, leaving just moments later in similarly sized bags.
Greg Gerritt, an environmental and social activist who came up with the idea of a "Buy Nothing Day Winter Coat Exchange" 16 years ago, kept a close watch, deescalating the occasional flare-up.
In all, Gerritt said, an estimated 2,000 coats were donated at the State House grounds alone. Coat giveaways were simultaneously held at eight other locations throughout the state: the YMCAs in Cranston, Warwick and North Kingstown, the Bristol Elks Lodge, the East Providence Senior Center, St Paul's United Methodist Church in Newport, St. Francis of Assisi in South Kingstown, and the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center in Pawtucket.
People search the racks of donated coats at the State House.