For the past 16 years, the San Luis Obispo community has generously provided the County’s homeless with a wonderful home-cooked Christmas Day dinner, live entertainment and much needed care packages containing brand new sleeping bags, hooded sweatshirts, winter jackets, socks, underwear and toiletries. The event is spearheaded by the Jewish Community, but is not limited to any one religious persuasion.
Business partners throughout the county donate goods, equipment and services, including San Luis Obispo Odd Fellows, SLO Camp-n-Pack, San Luis Sourdough, Apple Farm, Marie Callender’s, Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Lab, Trader Joe’s, Ralph’s, Ride-On, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, PG&E and San Luis Garbage. We gratefully thank First Solar Electric for their generous corporate sponsorship of this event.
According to the most recent San Luis Obispo County Homeless Enumeration Report, the region has more than 3,700 people living without permanent shelter, and over 1,000 of those are located in the city of San Luis Obispo. There are less than 100 beds available each night by shelters in San Luis Obispo. This Christmas event is used to help those without shelter stay warm and protected from the elements during the upcoming winter months.
For as little as $20 you can provide a warm, winter jacket that will help make a tremendous difference in helping someone through our cold, wet winters. Donations to the Coats for Christmas Day program can be made by going to the United Way of San Luis Obispo County website at www.unitedwayslo.org. Checks can be mailed to PO Box 14309, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406. Please write “coats” on the memo line.
For more information on Coats for Christmas Day, please contact Sheri Eibschutz at 594-1999.