Network Rail Wessex route director, Mark Goodall’s charity Cosy Coats is aiming to ensure every child going to school has a coat on their back and is kept warm this Winter.
It was a mother’s love and a desire to provide for her daughter that inspired Mark Goodall to set up the charity which will have a pop-up shop today (Thursday 31 October) at Birmingham New Street station to help raise money towards purchasing coats for children in need.
The knowledge of the sacrifices Mark’s grandmother made to support his Mum stayed with Mark and when a friend of his and teacher at Oasis Academy Short Heath in Birmingham, informed him about the circumstances of children who were turning up to school cold and wet because their families couldn’t afford warm coats and shoes, it sparked Mark with the idea to set up the Cosy Coats charity.
Mark, a father of three children from Birmingham, initially made a donation to help the school buy some coats for the children who really needed them. But, rather than just handing them out, they found ways for parents in need to give these coats to their children, without them knowing it had been donated.
Mark reflected: “I initially launched Cosy Coats in 2020. My dear mum grew up in very poor circumstances and we were fortunate to have parents who did everything they could to provide for them, including going hungry.
“School had asked my mum to bring a science set into school and, because they couldn’t afford it, my nan cooked just potatoes for a whole week and sold some items so mum could afford the science set. What really pulls on my heartstrings is that mum lay awake at night for a week worrying about it. I hate thinking of any child lying awake at night worrying about stuff like that. I find it heartbreaking.
“Today, kids are coming into school in plimsolls and without coats. It is a fact that, once your feet and body get cold, it can take a long time to warm up and that’s just miserable in school. My research found that, while there are quite a few charities that help with hand-me-down school uniforms, there is a gap with coats and shoes so that’s why I launched Cosy Coats.”
Cosy Coats work with schools and other organisations to identify children and families in need of new coats. The children identified are able to choose a coat of choice from high street provider such as Next or Marks & Spencer which ensures they are wearing a coat they are proud of, and something that is new and theirs. Most of the time, children never find out that a charity purchased their coat.
Since launching the charity in 2020, Cosy Coats has provided nearly 1,000 coats for children at over 100 schools. Two years ago, Mark opened a pop up shop at Birmingham New Street station in the hope of ‘selling’ the 22 coats he had bought in the space of a week. The generosity of the public saw to it that he had sold out within just a little over three hours, requiring him to go and purchase some more that evening.
As the charity looks to grow – in 2023 it provided coats for around 400 children – in addition to the pop up show opening today in Birmingham, Mark is now looking to replicate his success in Birmingham across the South of England, with a pop up shop potentially at some of Network Rail’s London flagship stations such as London Waterloo.
Mark added: “Most people have the fortune to know what it feels like to have something new and fashionable. The children are proud to be around other kids who have that kind of stuff routinely. For us, Cosy Coats is about both warmth and self-esteem.
“We didn’t want to bulk buy one particular coat as they’d be known as the ‘free coats’. This way, children get to pick their own coat, and we buy it for them. Lots of kids have always had hand-me-downs and may never had anything new of their own, this is why it is so important.
“All the coats are picked out by the children and their parents so we know they will like them and feel happy wearing them. We know that a 15-year-old boy will want something different to a nine-year-old girl.
Mark concluded: “From the feedback we’ve received since launching, people like the simplicity of how we operate. If there’s a £20 coat and someone wants to donate £5, they can buy a quarter of that coat.
“They can buy a coat in the knowledge it will go to a child to keep them warm. With Cosy Coats, people know that if they give £30, it buys £30 worth of coats.
“I urge people to please come along to Birmingham New Street station today – any donation is welcome!”
For more information about Cosy Coats, visit: www.cosycoats.co.uk
