Topics at a glance: Dentist's wife spearheads effort to buy new coats for Galveston teens — Donations sought by Nov. 25 for mid-December delivery

Dentist's wife spearheads effort to buy new coats for Galveston teens

Donations sought by Nov. 25 for mid-December delivery

By Rhonda Moran UTDB Communications Specialist

Karen Anderson, wife of UTDB alumnus Ernie Anderson, D.D.S. (Class of '71), is leading a drive to provide new coats for the 1,800 students at Ball High School in storm-damaged Galveston. A donation of $17 will buy a coat through “Coats for Kids,” a nonprofit organization that buys coats in bulk in an assortment of sizes and colors.

Karen Anderson said she's hoping to collect most of the money by Tuesday, Nov. 25 so she can place an order through Coats for Kids. Allowing 10 days for shipping, the coats should arrive in time for Dec. 17 delivery, ahead of the students' holiday break. “We hope to have a selection that day and let them find their size and choose from the colors we have,” she said.

Originally, Anderson was concerned that high school students wouldn't want to be seen wearing a donated coat, even one that's new. But she was advised that the students are accustomed to a strict dress code that requires them to dress in similar clothing.

Ball High School serves Galveston as well as the communities of Jamaica Beach, Port Bolivar and Crystal Beach. Because of Hurricane Ike, many students are either homeless, displaced or generally in need because their parents have lost jobs. For those who still have homes, furnaces may have been under water. “There's a long process to get the furnaces inspected and turned back on,” Anderson said. “So that's why I felt it was urgent to get these coats to the kids before the holidays begin.”

Karen and Ernie Anderson are doing this as a way to help Galveston, a community they came to love when their adult son went to the Transitional Learning Center there for treatment after a brain infection. Eventually, he was able to get a job at the library and live independently in an apartment one block from The Strand. Then the hurricane changed everything.

“He lost his home and his job after the storm,” Karen Anderson said. “The library had to lay off more than half its staff, which was traumatic because many of them had been there for years. My son was living on the second floor of a loft. He had 9 feet of water on the bottom level, and the roof caved in above. We couldn't get in there for eight days, and when we did, the mold was horrific.”

While her son has family to help him through this crisis, many Galveston families have no one. The Andersons have worked with www.Help4Galveston.org to coordinate the coat drive with the school district. Originally, the couple planned to help elementary school children, but learned from Galveston ISD that donations often target younger children while high school students remain unserved.

So far, enough money has been raised to buy 327 coats. If you would like to help, send donations to Coats for Kids Foundation, c/o Karen Anderson, 16411 Shelby Court, Spring, TX 77379. Make checks out to “Coats for Kids, Inc.” and write “Galveston” on the memo line. The donations are tax-deductible, and receipts will be provided. For more information on the group, visit www.coats-for-kids.org.

Anderson said she isn't sure what to expect from this effort. “I'm praying for 1,800 coats, but we'll be grateful to get whatever we can,” she said. “Any money that comes in after Nov. 25 will be used to buy more coats to deliver in January.”

For more information, contact her at 281-989-3812 or KarenAnderson10@aol.com.