Daily Pilot
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley began organizing coat drives long before she was elected to her office, an idea she said was born out of a desire to foster collaboration with the local police department.
Seventeen years ago, Foley, the former mayor of Costa Mesa, teamed up with an officer to facilitate a charitable endeavor. The community has come together again and again since, the donations this time allowing for stops in Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach and San Juan Capistrano.
“We wanted to do something charitable in partnership with the police department to support the community, to show that the police are here to help and here to serve, and that they are your neighbors and friends,” said Foley, who was a planning commissioner when the idea came together. “That person is now a deputy chief for the city of Costa Mesa, Jason Chamness, and that’s where it started.”
As its origins might suggest, the distribution of the coats is also an opportunity for education and outreach. Public officials, as well as fire and police personnel, also made appearances at the Boys & Girls Club of Costa Mesa on Wednesday.
“We know that there is so much need right here in our own community and with the neighbors just around the corner,” said Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, who was among those in attendance. “I think it’s so gratifying to be able to give back, and also, to work with so many incredible community partners to give back.
“I thought the cutest thing was when Supervisor Foley asked the kids, ‘What’s the number one thing that we can do to make Costa Mesa better for you and your families?’ They had some great ideas. It was like a focus group with a group of adults.”
What was the overriding themes of the children’s responses? Clean communities and make things cheaper, Foley said.
It’s good to know your audience, too. Police officers and firefighters shared about what it takes to break into their profession, providing for an environment that might be likened to a career day.
Then there was a most befitting request from the young crowd — an ask for a chocolate fountain.
In the end, the kids learned that more than coats can provide coverage. Community resources do so too.
“We have a lot of needy kids and families out there, and so we try to help out by being a partner in education and also with our nonprofits, trying to connect everyone together, so that we can get the resources to the right families and the right students,” said Carol Crane, a trustee on the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s board of education. “We’ve been very much proactive in that. Obviously, this is the last week of school, so our kids are all kind of happy and performing at holiday performances. … So much joy. So cute.”