Emma Davenport stunned by generosity after Manningham coat drive

A DONCASTER woman says she has been amazed by the generosity of the community after calling for people’s old winter coats to donate to homeless people.

Doncaster woman Emma Davenport is organising an appeal for winter clothing and blankets for the less fortunate.

A DONCASTER woman says she has been amazed by the generosity of the community after a spur of the moment decision to jump on Facebook and call for people’s old winter coats to donate to homeless people.

Emma Davenport said her post to the Facebook page Community Hub Manningham came about after spending time with her partner in their backyard one evening recently.

“I was sitting outside and I turned to my partner and said ‘I couldn’t imagine being homeless at the moment’,” she said. “And I thought we need to do something as a community, we can come together to help people.”

So she made a post on Facebook and was amazed to find herself “swamped” with old coats and jumpers people wanted to give to the cause.

Instead of dumping them in a charity bin, Ms Davenport teamed with Vinnies to take them to a North Melbourne soup kitchen and give disadvantaged people the chance to pick an item directly.

“They were amazed at the amount of community support that was involved,” Ms Davenport said. “Everyone has an old coat in their wardrobe that they no longer wear and it’s a shame to just leave it there,” she said.

Ms Davenport now wants to do another drive with a focus on blankets.

To donate, email emma [e-mail]