News

When Priscilla and her adorable three children first connected to Rising Ground, little did she know that her family would end up on national TV! But she and her family exemplify the thousands of people who received winter coats through the Warm Coats and Warm Hearts Coat Drive. A whopping 194,000+ coats were donated and given out this year, including more than 400 coats given to Rising Ground families. That made national news!

The drive’s sponsors, Burlington, Delivering Good, and Good Morning America, wanted to spotlight the drive on GMA. Delivering Good asked all of its community partners to suggest a family to feature on the show—and more than 500 families were nominated. So, you can imagine our excitement when GMA chose Priscilla for the segment! (Watch the GMA segment here.)

Priscilla’s story is certainly compelling. Born to immigrant parents, she had to drop out of nursing school because of poor health. Her family lives in a rundown Bronx apartment building that lost heat and electricity this winter. Priscilla considers our Soundview Family Resource Center to be a home away from home, where her children are part of a weekly playgroup. The program is helping her find a new place to live and advising her on how to grow her recently launched tutoring business, so she can earn money while caring for her children.

Not only did Priscilla benefit from the coat drive, she helped distribute the coats. She worked with us to organize them by men’s, women’s, boys’, and girls’ coats and then by size. She encouraged community members to register to get coats, and helped hand out the vouchers.

Priscilla says she was grateful to receive warm winter coats for her three children, their father, and herself. As she describes it: “It was important for me to keep all of us warm during these cold winter months. I was also able to share the coat drive information with other families in need in my community. The Soundview Family Resource Center’s coat drive gave me the ability to provide a coat for my family when I couldn’t.”

Burlington also surprised Priscilla on the show with a $500 gift certificate, so she’s able to give her family a little bit more. The Burlington, Delivering Good, and GMA coat drive is making a real difference to families.

Thank you for your generosity.  You’re helping to make families stronger!