Dress Up Main Street Winter Coat Project Receives Help From Coshocton Elks #376

L to R. Riger Moore, Coshocton Opportunity School Superintendent, Diana McKee, Paraprofessional at Opportunity School and project lead, Mike Turner, Coshocton Lodge #376 Lodge Secretary

Coshocton Elks Lodge #376 recently applied for a Spotlight Grant through the
Elks National Foundation. The Elks National Foundation allocates monies to
return to communities as an investment in building stronger communities where
Elk members live and work. Our lodge chose to partner with the Coshocton
Opportunity School’s winter coat project. This project seeks gently used winter
adult coats, and pairs them up with winter hats, gloves and scarves. The coats
are bagged in plastic and hung on tree branches in the Coshocton downtown
area where needy folks may look through them to find a suitable size for their
use. This project will take place about the second week of December 2026. The
project will be publicized through the local media to inform the public of the exact
date and time it will take place in December.
The Coshocton Opportunity School winter coat project is led by Diana McKee, a
Paraprofessional for the school, and other teachers and administrators of the school. The students also participate in matching up the coats with winter hats and gloves and bagging them up. The project helps the students learn community service, and service beyond self.
The grant funding through the Elks lodge was $2500. This will enable the
purchasing of children’s coats (of which there is a very great need), and winter
hats, gloves, and scarves. The staff looks for sales on the items needed as to
enable their purchasing power to obtain more items, and help aid the project to
become as big as possible.
The Coshocton Elks Lodge #376 has several members who are administrators,