Mandy Blankenship is very clued in about what young women at Missouri Girls Town need. After all, she grew up there.
"So, I started a coat drive," she said. "This is the first year I've done this."
Blankenship persuaded officials at the Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri to donate three barrels. She decorated them and persuaded store managers at Cato Fashions and Wavelengths, at 1887 Bluff St., to let her place them there.
"Growing up at Girls Town, Cato donated clothes frequently so I grew up wearing them," Blankenship said. "They told me how they still donate clothes."
Blankenship works at Wavelengths, a U.S. Cellular provider. Her minister at The Lighthouse Church in Kingdom City also took in a donation barrel, she said.
"It's pretty cool my church will be helping," she said.
The coat donation drive runs through Nov. 20. Gently used clothes - everything should be in good shape - also are welcome, Blankenship said.
"My goal is 30 coats," she said.
Missouri Girls Town is near Kingdom City in Callaway County. Staff there provide a home for 35-40 girls at a time, giving them a loving family atmosphere and teaching them skills they can use growing into adulthood. Executive Director Kathy Becker said she knows Blankenship has a good soul and appreciates her.
"She just keeps helping Girls Town out," she said. "She just saw a need."
Becker added many of the girls don't have many possessions when they come to Girls Town.
"We've got girls coming in and out of here every year, and they all need coats," Becker said. "They just don't come with them."