Mayor Adams, New York Cares, Partnership for New York City, and NYC’s Professional Sports Organizations Call On New Yorkers to Help Keep Our Neighbors Warm

Mayor to Unveil WE❤️NYC sculpture in celebration of the 35th Annual New York Cares Coat Drive Launch

Today Mayor Eric Adams tips off the 2023 holiday season with the launch of the 35th annual New York Cares Coat Drive, which seeks to ensure that every New Yorker in need has a warm coat for the winter. Cathy Engelbert, Commissioner of the WNBA, representing the NYC Sports Coalition; Sapreet K. Saluja, Executive Director of New York Cares, the city’s largest volunteer network; and Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO of the Partnership for New York City, the organization behind the WE❤️NYC campaign, are helping to kick off the Coat Drive in Times Square.

This year’s Coat Drive is the largest ever, aiming to collect and distribute at least 250,000 new and gently used coats over the next two years. For the first time, New York area sports leagues and teams are coming together as the NYC Sports Coalition to support this collaborative citywide campaign with a focus on collecting and distributing warm winter coats to New Yorkers in need.

Promotion of the Coat Drive will be amplified by the NYC Sports Coalition, which includes the major leagues and New York region teams: Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League, National Women’s Soccer League, Women’s National Basketball Association; Brooklyn Nets, NJ/NY Gotham FC, New York City FC, New York Giants, New York Islanders, New York Jets, New York Knicks, New York Liberty, New York Mets, New York Rangers, New York Red Bulls, and the New York Yankees.

The leagues and teams involved in the NYC Sports Coalition will be engaging fans and employees, promoting the coat drive on their digital and social channels at games and in their offices, and running their own coat collections to ensure every New Yorker who needs a coat, gets one. Additionally, Mayor Adams announced that the administration will build on its own support of New York Cares by doubling the city’s Secret Snowflake program to directly serve more than 10,000 youth and families – including 6,000 asylum seekers residing in Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers – this winter.

In the spirit of the generosity of New Yorkers that inspires the Coat Drive, the Mayor will unveil a monumental WE❤️NYC sculpture. WE❤️NYC is a campaign enabled by the Partnership for New York City to encourage New Yorkers to show their love for their city through civic action and community engagement.

“Everyone knows ‘I Love New York’ — and this year, we have been turning ‘I’ into ‘We,’ lending a helping hand and spreading love to every block across the five boroughs,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Today, we’re showing our love by launching the annual New York Cares Coat Drive and unveiling the ‘WE❤️NYC’ statue in Times Square — the thriving heartbeat of our economic recovery. We overcame the darkest days of the pandemic and set a new all-time high jobs record here in New York City because of hard-working New Yorkers and the selfless work of everyday volunteers, looking out for one another. In that spirit, this year, we have set a goal of distributing 250,000 coats to New Yorkers in need, and with the support of New York City’s professional sports teams, our city agencies, and generous New Yorkers across the city, we know we’ll get there.”

“We are proud to partner with WE❤️NYC and the NYC Sports Coalition for our 35th annual coat drive, working together to harness the generosity of our city to keep New Yorkers in-need warm,” said Sapreet K. Saluja, Executive Director of New York Cares. “In our organization’s history, donations have helped more than 2.5 million New Yorkers receive a coat, and we believe this partnership will help make it our biggest coat drive yet.”

“The New York Cares Coat Drive is more vital than ever this year with the unprecedented number of asylum seekers coming into the city,” said Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City. “WE❤️NYC is proud to be a partner in this important initiative, and help mobilize hundreds of New York employers to support this effort throughout the holiday season.”

“We all love New York City and together ‘WE’ can use the act of giving as a solution to uplift our neighbors and city. We are proud to celebrate New York Cares’ coat drive and the broader efforts of the private sector to engage their employees in ways to give,” said Laura Rog, NYC Chief Service Officer. “Let this sculpture serve as a reminder of the talents and vibrancy of the city and inspire us all to unite together in service.” 

“The WNBA is excited to join with the other sports organizations under the WE❤️NYC banner to support the New York Cares Coat Drive and other volunteer activities where sports can help build community in our city and region,” said Cathy Engelbert, WNBA Commissioner.

Over the next several weeks, New Yorkers and tourists will encounter the WENYC sculpture, which stands at six feet tall and 24 feet long, in Times Square. Funded by Dynamic Star, LLC, Rudin, and the Times Square Alliance, the sculpture will begin its journey in Times Square before moving to another location in November to continue to enliven our neighborhoods.

How to Donate Coats

New Yorkers can donate gently used, freshly laundered coats at several public collection sites in each of the five boroughs through December 31, 2023. Please visit New York Cares’ coat drive map at newyorkcares.org/coat-drive/map, which includes information on this year’s collections with exact locations, dates, and hours of operation.

Individuals and organizations can set up a coat collection or a virtual Coats+ fundraiser at newyorkcares.org/coats. Every $25 donation helps keep 10 New Yorkers warm and also provides essential volunteer programs that help break the cycle of poverty. All donations are tax deductible.

About the 35th Annual New York Cares Coat Drive

Since 1989, the New York Cares Coat Drive has collected over two and a half million winter coats for men, women, and children throughout the city. For more information on starting a coat collection, setting up a virtual Coats+ fundraiser, and other ways to help keep New Yorkers warm, visit newyorkcares.org/coats.

About New York Cares

New York Cares is the largest volunteer network in the city. Last year, more than 20,000 New Yorkers made the city a better place by volunteering in New York Cares programs at over 400 nonprofits and schools – improving education, meeting immediate needs, and revitalizing public spaces. For more information, visit newyorkcares.org.

About WE❤️NYC

WENYC is a cross-sector campaign to showcase the city’s strengths and mobilize New Yorkers to make sure this remains the greatest city in the world. The citywide campaign celebrates New Yorkers who are making a difference and features opportunities for civic engagement that everyone can join. No taxpayer dollars are used for this effort, and all New Yorkers are invited to get involved at welovenyc.nyc.