Unfortunately, a large number of children in the UK do not own a suitable winter coat. They travel to and from school cold (sometimes wet), which has an adverse affect on their concentration, significantly impacting their education, studies and performance .

In some homes, there is no heating for long periods of time, so wearing a coat inside the house for some children, becomes their only way of keeping warm. Unless warm, homework and studies becomes a difficult task. Or opposite, being cold, severely impacts their ability to complete any educational task.

The average cost of a winter, waterproof and thermal lined, coat is £40 wholesale. For some families this is similar to their weekly income, and therefore unaffordable.

- In the absence of Office Christmas Parties and “Secret Santa”, we are appealing that this is replaced with a “coat donation” – each £20 will go towards a coat per child this winter.

- Any individual or family can donate, or if you have coats that are in good condition, and would benefit a child, we would love to hear from you. Either leave a comment below or email us at:

The coats will be distributed via Food Banks and Women Refuge Centres , across the UK, starting with centres in the poorest areas of London and the West Country.

Put Your Big Coat On was launched 03 November 2020, and within the first 24 hours, various food banks and government based organisations have expressed an interest. There are many families on their lists, where the help will go directly to the child in need.

I, Debra Howard, am the founder of this new initiative "Put My Big Coat On". This has come from the knowledge that many teachers purchase clothing for school children out of their own wages, as they see the need first hand, and the direct impact on education.

In my past experience, I have also raised awareness on other initiatives, such as improving education expectations of children with special needs, as well as successfully campaigning for the National Guidelines (NICE) in the UK to be changed, for severely deaf children to access cochlear implants.

Whilst we launch "Put Your Big Coat On" at this point through "Just Giving", we are working towards creating the charitable status in the New Year, to enable us to campaign on a larger scale, and continuously.

i am fortunate enough that a film producer has offered, for free, to record the entire process from infancy to charity status, to capture the journey of the campaign, and grow its capacity.