In 2010, Frances Manthos was chatting to a friend, who was troubled because a teacher he knew had mentioned that several of his primary aged students were coming to school without coats because their parents couldn't afford them. At the time, Frances also had young children who were rapidly growing out of their winter coats, meaning she had several to spare, so she offered to donate them.
Realising this was a wider issue, but one that she could help do something about, she started spreading the word amongst her friends, and the idea for Calling London was born. It is a charity with one goal - to make sure Londoners who can't afford to buy a coat are provided with one to keep them warm in the winter.
Frances says: "The idea behind the name, Calling London, alongside our megaphone logo, was to call London to action. Alongside some other volunteers, I created some basic flyers, and then I started writing to charities asking if they were in need of coats for their clients. The first year alone we collected 1200 coats, and last year it reached 10,000."
Calling London's work centres on their annual Winter Coat Drive, which begins in earnest this autumn. After several weeks of collecting coats at drop off points across the city, they are all brought to Frances' garage ("thank goodness I have one!", she says). Over four days, volunteers get to work, opening the bags, checking the coats for quality, and organising them for distribution to charities across London.
Frances says: "We ask people to donate the coats they have at home that they don’t want — whether they don’t fit, they’re tired of them, whatever. People can either donate at one of our public donation points across the city, or they can run a collection at their workplace, school, church, or even in their neighbourhood using the online platform Nextdoor. If anything has a broken zip, is missing all its buttons, or is badly stained, then we textile recycle it. It's all about the dignity of our beneficiaries, so our policy is that if we wouldn’t wear it ourselves, then we don't expect someone else to. If our beneficiaries could buy themselves a new coat then they would, but instead they are given a good quality, clean secondhand one."
As a community-focused business, Chase Buchanan was amongst the first corporate organisations to get involved with supporting Frances and her work eight years ago. The team got in touch to see how we could help, and so started a longstanding relationship, where team members volunteer their time to deliver and sort coats, while offices make space for drop off points so it's easy for people to donate their coats.
Frances says: "Chase Buchanan coming on board was a game changer because it enabled us to have these pop-up public donation points across London. We have very simple boxes, a bit like recycling bins, where people can drop off their coats easily. With Chase Buchanan on board, we were able to put these donation points in all their offices, so if someone emailed to ask where they could give, I could just direct them to the nearest office."
What Frances is passionate about is giving people dignity, and it's easy to forget the amount of dignity that comes with having a good coat. While for many a coat is a luxury item, it's also an essential, and Frances expresses her concern that so many people only have a thin jacket or jumper. She is particularly aware of how many parents struggle to buy new coats for children, with escalating costs mounting up and the constant need to keep up with their growth.
That said, the demand for coats for people from all different walks of life continues to grow at pace. She currently sends them to around 40 charitable groups who hand them out to their clients directly, ranging from well-known organisations like Crisis at Christmas, St. Mungo’s, and Hestia, to smaller charities like, North London Cares who do elderly befriending.
She says: "Most people assume the coats go to rough sleepers, and some of them do, but they also go to families via several food banks, to victims of human trafficking, groups working with young mothers and babies, to those befriending the elderly, and to recently released prisoners. Every year the demand grows, so we continue to push."
When they sort through the coats, she and her volunteers pay a lot of attention to what would suit different people - at pains to make sure someone who is sleeping rough gets an anorak that can be layered, or a ski jacket, rather than something that will absorb water in the winter weather.
As we head into autumn, coat collecting is heading into its peak for Calling London, and Frances is appealing to individuals to look in their wardrobes and dig out coats that they no longer wear. You can donate them at your nearest Chase Buchanan office to drop them off, or you might consider organising a coat collection of your own in your local community.
Then, from 20th October to 21st November they will hold their Winter Coat Drive, when they sort all the donations, and volunteers are welcome to help out. You can contact the charity via the website or on Instagram, @callinglondonuk!