With the onset of cold weather, the demand for warm clothes grows | Popgen Tech

St. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As the temperature drops, the demand for anything warm is growing at thrift store Vincent de Paul.

“Blankets, rain gear, jackets, warm weather gear,” said director of development Merrell Dickey. “Anything you can think of, hats, skullcaps. We serve people who walk all day.”

He says they are already struggling to keep up with demand.

“Believe it or not, we ran out of blankets on Monday night and we put something on our website that we had a call for blankets and people brought them. It’s wonderful.”

Dickey said this is vital to their supply because much of what they have will go to the St. Vincent de Paul Care Center, where supplies are limited.

“We’re pretty much stocked with the essentials,” said Chief of Staff Mark Cooper. “But with the cold weather coming, we’ll run out of that pretty quickly. We always need a coat. We always need blankets and socks.”

The shelter now has about 40 blankets left, but Dickey said this is a moment where faith makes all the difference.

“I fill in like we can fill the need,” he said, “it always works out.”

For more resources and information on how to donate, visit the St. Vincent de Paul website.