Photo: Photo Courtesy of WBZ's Matt Shearer
FOXBORO, Mass (WBZ NewsRadio) — On Tuesday, police from across the Commonwealth and beyond collected buckets of coats to distribute to homeless veterans, with help from the New England Patriots.
Outside Gillette Stadium, police from every city and town in Massachusetts and Rhode Island gathered to pick up ten buckets worth of clothing for veterans in each of their communities.
The program, called "Coats 4 Vets", was created to keep veterans warm year-round. President and CEO of the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation, Don Cox, said that when he first put together Coats 4 Vets, it started with 200 coats on Cape Cod. That number has evolved to 40,000 coats across New England, and Cox said the program grows larger every year.
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Sergeant Patrick Faherty of the Quincy Police Department was at Gillette and said, "All of these buckets will go to good use, we're very appreciative as a city to receive them and be able to distribute them."
Cox, who is a veteran himself, spoke to WBZ's Matt Shearer and said, "I don't think it's fair that you raise your right hand and serve this country, and you have to be at risk or in need to get things. And that's what drives me- I want to solve the problem."
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft also made an appearance, and said, "Anything we can do to support the veterans- we're there."
WBZ's Matt Shearer (@MattWBZ) reports.
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