A line wrapped around the Butler City Farmers’ Market when Bundle Up Butler began handing out winter clothing at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 9. By the time the doors opened, tables inside were crowded with coats and other cold-weather gear, according to volunteers quoted by the Butler Eagle.
The Center for Community Resources used fundraising and grants to buy the 2,000 coats it handed out this year, the Eagle reported. About 200 coats were also donated by community members, but the paper did not say how many of those donated coats were distributed. Last year, the event gave out about 600 winter coats, making this year’s purchased supply more than triple that benchmark.
Before the event, CCR described the distribution as first-come, with children’s coats free and a limited number of adult coats available for a suggested $5 donation. Registration was not required. The organizer’s notice listed the 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. hours and the Butler City Farmers’ Market at 209 South Chestnut Street. Butler Radio’s Oct. 8 preview also reported the access details and location.
Community Alliance Church, one of several drop-off sites, asked people to place clean, wearable coats and jackets in the lobby collection box from Sept. 20 through Oct. 4, its listing says. It directed monetary gifts to CCR at 212-214 South Main Street in Butler. The listing says hundreds of families attend each year and describes a goal of distributing thousands of coats throughout winter. The church described the drive as a way to get warm gear to neighbors before winter.
The collection network extended to Mars Area School District. In a Sept. 25 report, the Eagle said the district accepted new and gently used coats, hats, scarves, blankets, gloves and mittens through Oct. 2. Residents could leave items in blue bins at any district school building or its administration office. Drop-offs were available during school hours, the district said, and donations would reach Butler County residents through CCR.
The event’s format lets families look through the clothing themselves. Rosanne Natili, a volunteer who has helped for about five years, told the Eagle she enjoys helping people find a coat in a color and style they like rather than simply handing over whichever one fits. “To see the smiles on all these faces is priceless,” Natili told the paper. The Eagle reported that the farmers market was in its fourth year as the event’s venue, giving volunteers space to arrange tables and make the distribution feel more like a shopping experience.
Natili also turned a local recognition into another contribution. After receiving a $250 Ruby Award from Soroptimist International of Butler County in April, she chose to give the prize money to Bundle Up Butler for additional coats. Her donation joined money the organization raised through broader fundraising and grant support, while community members contributed coats directly.
Volunteer Dan Thompson offered a separate estimate of the scale: he put the value of the merchandise at more than $80,000 and the average coat price at about $40. That is his estimate, not an audited total, but it gives context for the purchasing effort behind the event.
In September, CCR advertised a one-day Dine & Donate fundraiser at Villa Grande Ristorante & Pizzeria. The group’s post said the restaurant would contribute 20% of food purchases from patrons who presented a printed or digital flyer; it said the fundraiser ran all day Monday, Sept. 21, at 183 New Castle Road. The post did not report proceeds.
Southworth told the Eagle that residents come to CCR every day in winter for clothing help, and that more coats would be available at CCR on Main Street for people who missed the Oct. 9 distribution. A 2025 Eagle report said about 400 families came to the market event and that winter calls continued for people needing coats. Volunteers said Bundle Up Butler has run for more than a decade and that demand has grown.
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