Someone has a coat they do not need, someone needs a coat they do not have.
That’s the mantra of the annual free coat exchange. Ted Loebenberg, an auctioneer, has been organizing the exchange since 2010.
It’s built on years of collaboration with various businesses and community organizations across Louisville and Southern Indiana, he says.
“Nobody's in it for anything. Nobody is looking for anything. It's a chance to get back and give yourself a warm, fuzzy feeling,” Loebenberg said.
He was inspired by a friend in Rhode Island, where Loebenberg previously lived, who started a coat exchange there as an “antithesis to the commercialization of the holidays.”
Loebenberg carried the idea with him to Louisville, where he held the first coat exchange event in the parking lot of the Green Building in what’s now the NuLu neighborhood.
Participating is easy: People can come to the drop-off site on November 29 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Show up at the Garage Bar,” Loebenberg said, referring to one popular site. “You don't have to sign up. You don't have to stay for two or three hours. Whatever you do, you do.”
Any coats that aren’t claimed will be donated to nonprofits in the region.
There are 31 drop-off locations across Louisville and Southern Indiana.
