GRANGER – They did it! With a goal of collecting 300 new or gently-used coats for the Coats for Kids Drive, the Highland Middle School eighth grade DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) role models, in conjunction with the high school DARE role models and members of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) counted 308 coats donated by Nov. 28.

It was decided to continue the drive until Dec. 8. Anyone wishing to donate a coat is asked to drop it off at the middle school, marked to the attention of the DARE Officer, Deputy Sharon Centner. Adult sizes are also gratefully accepted.

All of the gently-used coats will be dry cleaned at Superior Cleaners, compliments of Howard Hanna Realtors of Wadsworth, one of the sponsors. Additional sponsors are Channel 3 television, the Salvation Army of Wadsworth and WTAM Radio. The Salvation Army of Wadsworth will distribute the coats to needy families in the Highland District, as well as in the Wadsworth area.

In 2014, more than 200 coats were contributed to Coats for Kids, while more than 300 were donated in 2015.

Centner, Highland DARE officer, said, “Once again, the Highland community has been extremely generous. Thanks to the generosity and support of Highland residents, we have been able to collect more than 300 coats for the second consecutive year.”

The Coats for Kids program was begun at Highland High School in 2006 by then-junior Brandon Ra and is ongoing. It extended to the middle school the following year and is now a district-wide program.