ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Salvation Army began its annual Coats for Kids giveaway on Wednesday.

About 500 coats are available for families in our community. Registered families have started to pick up their new coats. More appointments are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

“Kids grow so quickly. So there’s a good chance, if a family can’t afford it, you know, they have two, three, four kids and they couldn’t afford a coat last year, maybe even the coat that we gave them last year doesn’t fit any longer, so they need another coat,” said Major Rick Starkey, director of operations at the Salvation Army Rochester and Monroe County.

The Salvation Army bought most of the coats with money from fundraisers. Others were donated.